WILFRED  HAROLD  MUNRO 


EXCHANGE 


/ 


BATTLE   OF   LAKE   ERIE 


WITH  NOTICES  OF 

COMMODORE  ELLIOT'S  CONDUCT 

IN  THAT  ENGAGEMENT. 


BY  HON.  TRISTAM  BURGES. 


PROVIDENCE  : 
BROWN    &    CADY. 

1839. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1839,  by 

FHANCIS  Y.  CAROLE, 
."    .in -the  Clerk's .  Ovfc*  of  the  District  Court  of  RhodeJsland. 


EXCHANGE 


PROVIDENCE: 

CRANSTON  &  CO.  PRINTERS. 


CONTENTS. 


Preface,  ....         page  5 

Lecture,  .....  17 

Notes,  .  59 

Diagram,  No.  1, 79 

Diagram,  No.  2,  ...  73 

Diagram,  No.  3,         ....  77 

American  Official  Account,     ....       80 
British  Official  Account,      ....  85 

English  Naval  Court  Martial,  ...       90 

American  Court  of  Inquiry,          ...  91 

Com.  Perry's  Letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  93 
Charges  preferred  by  Commodore  Pesry,       .  98 

Captain  Turner's  Affidavit,      .         .         .          .103 
Captain  Stevens'  Affidavit,  .         .         .          106 

Captain  Champlin's  Affidavit,  .         .          .108 

Purser  Breese's  Affidavit,     ....         HO 
Captain  BrownelPs  Affidavit,  .         .  112 

Captain  Taylor's  Affidavit,  .         .          .          115 

Doctor  Parsons'  Letter,  .         .         ;i;  :  120 

A  Letter  from  an  Officer,  .         .  126 

Elliot's  Letter  to  Perry,  .  128 

Perry's  Reply  to  Elliot,      .  130 


988941. 


PREFACE 


IN  the  winter  of  1836,  a  course  of  lectures 
was  read  in  the  city  of  Providence,  before  the 
Historical  Society  of  Rhode-Island.  The  early 
history  of  the  State  was  a  general  theme,  and, 
among1  other  things,  the  maritime  affairs  of  our 
little  Commonwealth  were  deemed  worthy  of 
attention. 

The  writer  of  the  following  Lecture,  collect 
ed  the  materials,  arranged  most  of  the  lec 
tures,  and  wrote  several  of  them,  for  an  entire 
course,  on  this  part  of  our  history.  These 
were  intended  to  have  been  read  before  the 
Society,  after  the  general  course  was  termi 
nated  ;  but  this  was,  for  a  sufficient  reason, 


^  PREFACE.  - 

^^          I 

then  omitted,  and  it  is  not  now  probabj^  that 
it  will  ever  be  done.  The  lecture  on  the  fleet 
and  battle  of  Erie,  was  the  only  one  of  the 
course  then  read. 

It  will  be  remembered,  that  not  long  before 
that  time,  he,  who,  at  the  beginning  of  that 
battle,  commanded  the  Niagara,  had  publicly 
set  up  a  claim  to  the  whole  glory  of  its  suc 
cessful  termination.  This  was,  doubtless,  one 
reason  why  the  printing  of  the  following  lec 
ture  was  then  requested,  both  by  the  Society, 
and  by  individuals,  who  regarded  the  achieve 
ments  of  the  distinguished  commander  of  that 
fleet,  as  a  heritage  of  glory,  to  be  cherished, 
and  preserved,  by  the  whole  nation.  A  copy 
was  not  then  furnished,  because  it  was  be 
lieved  that  the  gentleman,  who  had  been  ap 
pointed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Rhode- 
Island,  to  write  the  biography  of  Commodore 
Perry,  would  soon  finish,  and  publish  that 
work.  This  would  supersede  all  necessity  far 
printing  this  lecture. 

The  delay  of  that  publication,  and  another 
event  of  a  public  character,  have  induced  the 
writer  of  the  lecture,  at  the  anxious  request 


PREFACE.  Vil 

of  the  family  and  friends  of  Commodore  Perry, 
to  furnish  a  copy  of  it  for  the  press. 

In  doing  this,  it  has  been  thought  appropri 
ate  to  give  the  reasons  which  induced  the  wri 
ter  to  regard  the  fleet  and  battle  of  Erie,  as  a 
part  of  the  maritime  affairs  of  Rhode-Island. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  revolution,  it 
is  believed  that  the  people  of  Rhode-Island 
were,  in  their  maritime  character,  much  in  ad 
vance  of  any  other  of  the  Colonies.  They 
had  more  nautical  men  fit  to  command,  and 
more  vessels  fit  for  public  service,  than  any 
other.  The  idea  of  a  national  fleet  was  first 
conceived  in  Rhode-Island.  Of  this,  ample 
proof  shall  be  famished. 

At  the  August  session,  holden  at  East- 
Greenwich,  Anno  Salvatoris  Nostrorum,  1775, 
the  General  Assembly  of  Rhode-Island  made 
the  first  movement  ever  made,  on  this  side  of 
the  Atlantic,  to  build,  and  establish  a  national 
fleet.  It  will  be -found  in  their  own  words,  at 
page  103-4  of  their  journal ;  and  as  no  other 
words  can  be  so  apposite  to  their  meaning, 
they  will  be  quoted  here  just  as  they  stand 
on  their  record. 


Vlii  PREFACE. 

"  Whereas,  notwithstanding  the  humble 
and  dutiful  petition  of  Congress  to  the  King, 
and  other  wise  and  pacific  measures,  taken 
for  obtaining  a  happy  reconciliation  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies  ;  the  Ministers, 
lost  to  every  sentiment  of  justice,  liberty,  and 
humanity,  continue  to  send  troops  and  ships 
of  war  into  America,  which  destroy  our  trade, 
plunder  and  burn  our  towns,  and  murder  the 
good  people  of  these  Colonies  : 

It  is,  therefore,  Voted  and  Resolved,  that 
this  Colony  most  ardently  wish  to  see  the 
former  friendship,  harmony,  and  intercourse, 
between  Britain  and  these  Colonies,  restored, 
and  a  happy,  and  lasting  connexion  estab 
lished  between  both  countries  upon  terms  of 
just  and  equal  liberty  ;  and  will  concur  with 
other  colonies  in  all  proper,  and  necessary 
measures  for  obtaining  these  desirable  bless 
ings  ;  and  as  every  principle,  divine  and 
human,  requires  us  to  obey  that  great  and 
fundamental  law  of  nature,  self-preservation, 
until  peace  shall  be  restored  upon  constitu 
tional  principles  ;  this  colony  will  most  heartily 
exert  the  whole  power  of  Government,  in 


PREFACE.  IX 

conjunction  with  other  colonies,  for  carrying 
on  this  just  and  necessary  war,  and  bringing 
the  same  to  a  happy  issue  :  and  among  other 
measures  for  obtaining  this  most  desirable  pur 
pose,  this  Assembly  is  persuaded  that  the 
building  and  equipping  an  American  fleet,  as 
soon  as  possible,  would  greatly  and  essen 
tially  conduce  to  the  preservation  of  the  lives, 
liberty  and  property  of  the  good  people  of  these 
Colonies ;  and,  therefore,  instruct  their  dele 
gates  to  use  their  whole  influence,  at  the 
ensuing  Congress,  for  building,  at  the  Conti 
nental  expense,  a  fleet  of  sufficient  force  for 
the  protection  of  these  Colonies,  and  for  em 
ploying,  them  in  such  manner  and  places,  as 
will  most  annoy  our  enemies,  and  contribute 
to  the  common  defence  of  these  Colonies  : 
and  they  are  also  instructed  to  use  all  their 
influence  for  carrying  on  the  war  in  the  most 
vigorous  manner  until  peace,  liberty,  and  safe 
ty  be  restored  and  secured  to  these  colonies 
upon  an  equitable  and  permanent  basis." 

That  Congress  to  which  Stephen  Hopkins 
and  Samuel  Ward  had  been  elected  delegates, 
assembled  at  Philadelphia,  on  Wednesday,  the 


X  PREFACE, 

5th  day  of  September,  1*75.  A  quorum  not 
attending  on  that  day,  they  adjourned  from 
day  to  day,  until  the  13th  of  that  month.  It  is 
not  known  on  what  day  the  Rhode-Island  de 
legates  took  their  seats  in  that  Congress  ;  but, 
as  it  appears  by  the  journal,  vol.  1,  page  147, 
••Tuesday,  October  3d,  one  of  the  delegates 
from  Rhode-Island  laid  before  Congress  a  part 
of  the  instructions  given  them  by  their  two 
Houses  of  Legislature,  on  the  26th  of  August 
last."  These  are,  verbatim,  the  words  of  the 
Congressional  record. 

These  instructions  are  the  first  intimations, 
on  the  records  of  Congress,  of  any  movement 
on  the  subject  of  a  continental  fleet.  They 
were  the  germ  of  our  United  States  navy. 
That  germ  was  planted  in  the  maritime  soil 
of  Rhode-Island.  It  has  flourished  ;  and  its 
branches  now  reach  every  sea,  every  ocean  ; 
and  the  glory  of  our  country  sets  in  safety 
under  their  shade. 

Who,  in  our  State,  or  our  Assembly,  first 
intimated  the  building  of  a  national  fleet,  can 
not  now  be  known.  There  is  no  record  of  his 
name.  It  might  be  George  Champlin,  or  Wil- 


PREFACE  XI 

liam  Bradford,  or  John  Brown,  or  Welcome 
Arnold.  It  was  for  our  country  a  glorious 
conception ;  and  twin-brother  to  the  bright 
idea  of  Themistocles,  who  taught  the  Atheni 
ans  that  the  wooden  walls  of  the  Delphic  Or 
acle,  were  that  national  navy  with  which  they 
destroyed,  or  dispersed,  the  fleet  of  Xerxes, 
and  secured  the  liberties  of  the  Grecian  States. 

It  is  true,  our  literature  has  hitherto  been 
silent  concerning-  our  own  achievements,  and 
but  for  this  humble  effort,  the  facts,  now  stat 
ed,  would  have  been  left  rusting  in  our  re 
cords  like  a  sword  in  the  scabbard,  until  drawn 
out  and  held  up  to  the  world  by  men  of  other 
States. 

It  is  remarked  by  historians,  that  the  Spar 
tans  satisfied  themselves  by  doing  gallant 
deeds ;  while  the  Athenians  not  only  knew 
how  to  perform,  but  also  how  to  celebrate 
heroic  exploits. 

What  Decatur  said  of  Lawrence,  might  be 
said  of  Rhode-Island.  u  The  young  fellow, '? 
exclaimed  the  hero  of  Tripoli,  "  has  not  much 
talk  for  himself ;  but  there  is  no  more  dodge 
in  him  than  there  is  in  the  main-mast. " 


Xll  PREFACE. 

On  the  25th  of  November,  1775,  Congress 
took  into  consideration  the  rules  and  orders 
for  the  fleet  of  the  United  Colonies.  On  Tues 
day,  the  28th,  they  were  debated,  paragraph 
by  paragraph,  and  finally  agreed  to  and  settled. 
December  22d,  the  committee  for  engaging 
armed  vessels,  reported  that  they  had  engaged 
four,  viz.  : 

The  Columbus,  Abraham  Whipple,  Captain  ; 
the  Alfred  Dudley,  Saltonstall,  Captain  ;  the 
Andrew  Dorea,  James  Biddle,  Captain  ;  the 
Cabbott,  John  Burroughs  Hopkins,  Captain. 
That  they  had  appointed  Esek  Hopkins  com 
modore  of  the  fleet.  That  they  had  appointed 
John  Paul  Jones,  Rhodes  Arnold,  Haysted 

Harker,  Jonathan  Pitcher,  and Stanbury, 

first  Lieutenants  ;  and  Benjamin  Seabury,  Jo 
seph  Olney,  Elisha  Weaver,  Thomas  Weaver, 
and M'Dougal,  second  Lieutenants. 

This  is  the  first  American  fleet  which  ever 
hoisted  sail  to  the  winds  of  heaven.  The  pro 
ject  of  such  a  fleet  was  first  proposed  by  the 
General  Assembly  of  Rhode-Island.  It  was 
laid  before  Congress  by  the  delegates  from 
Rhode-Island  ;  as,  I  believe,  Rhode-Island  fur- 


PREFACE.  Xlll 

nished  two  of  the  ships — and,  we  all  know 
that  Rhode-Island  furnished  the  Commodore 
of  the  fleet ;  two  of  the  Captains  ;  three  of  the 
first,  and  four  of  the  second  Lieutenants  ;  and 
in  all  probability,  most,  if  not  all  the  other  of 
ficers  and  men  for  at  least  two  of  the  ships. 

This  report  was  received  and  established  ; 
and  Commodore  Hopkins,  with  the  fleet  under 
his  command,  was  ordered  to  proceed  to  the 
Bahama  Islands,  and  capture  the  warlike  stores 
of  Great  Britain  deposited  at  New  Providence; 
and  then  to  cruise  on  the  coast  of  the  Carolinas, 
and  intercept  the  British  vessels  found  in  those 
waters. 

The  first  of  these  orders  was  fulfilled  to  the 
letter.  For  the  Commodore  more  than  load 
ed  his  fleet  with  those  stores  ;  and  was  obliged 
to  impress  one  of  the  colonial  vessels  to  aid  in 
bringing  away  the  captured  cannon  and  mu 
nitions  of  war.  It  is  believed  he  sailed  from 
the  United  Colonies  early  in  February,  1776  ; 
for  on  the  3d  of  March,  of  that  year,  he  cap 
tured  the  fort  at  New  Providence. 

After  this  success,  his  fleet  being  deeply 
laden  with  stores  so  highly  important  to  the 


XIV  PREFACE. 

Colonies,  he,  to  secure  these  valuable  stores, 
returned  directly,  and  unladed  them  at  New- 
London. 

Sir  Peter  Parker  was,  at  the  same  time,  ap 
proaching-  Charleston,  S.  C.,  with  a  powerful 
British  fleet.  He  made  his  attack  on  that 
place,  June  17th,  1776  ;  and  had  Commodore 
Hopkins  cruised  on  that  coast,  he  must  have, 
in  all  probability,  met  the  English  fleet  of  much 
greater  force  than  his  own,  and  nothing  short 
of  a  miracle  could  have  saved  his  fleet  with 
all  their  stores,  from  capture  and  entire  loss. 

On  the  19th  of  August,  1776,  Commodore 
Hopkins  was  ordered  by  Congress  to  join  the 
fleet.  In  the  following  November,  the  rank 
and  pay  of  naval  officers  were  raised,  and  a 
bounty  given  on  captured  guns. 

The  ranks,  above  Captain,  were  Admiral, 
Vice-Admiral,  Rear-Admiral,  and  Commodore. 
Esek  Hopkins,  of  North-Providence,  in  the 
State  of  Rhode-Island,  was  the  first,  and  the 
only  American,  who,  in  an  American  fleet, 
bore  the  title  of  Admiral. 

These  facts  prove,  that,  at  the  commence 
ment  of  the  Revolution,  the  people  of  Rhode- 


PREFACE.  XV 

Island  were  in  advance  of  the  other  colonies, 
in  skill  and  enterprise  in  naval  affairs.  They 
also  prove,  that  the  American  navy,  which 
bears  over  the  ocean,  and  in  view  of  all  na 
tions,  the  power  of  our  country,  was  origin 
ated  in  Rhode-Island. 

When  these  things  are  considered,  and  it 
is  called  to  mind  that  Commodore  Perry  was 
a  native  of  Rhode-Island,  and  that  he  carried 
with  him  from  that  State  up  to  the  lake,  those 
men,  who,  under  his  direction,  with  the  aid  of 
a  few  others,  built  and  equipped  that  fleet, 
which,  under  his  command,  subdued  the  ene 
my  on  those  waters,  it  is  not  too  much  to  re 
gard  this  distinguished  enterprise -as  a  part  of 
the  maritime  affairs  of  Rhode-Island.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  the  achievement  was  glorious  for 
our  country,  and  no  manner  of  considering  it 
can  diminish  its  merits  or  tarnish  its  splendor. 

Nothing  more  is  claimed  for  the  Lecture 
than  what  may  be  due  to  a  plain  and  true  ac 
count  of  the  fleet  and  battle,  drawn  from  a 
faithful  examination  of  all  the  evidence  in  the 
case. 

Providence,  August,  A.  D.  1839, 


LECTURE. 


IT  is  the  purpose  of  the  present  lecture  to 
give  a  concise  narrative  of  the  fleet  and  battle 
on  Lake  Erie. 

In  the  summer  of  1812,  OLIVER  HAZARD 
PEHRY,  of  Rhode-Island,  a  young  man,  Cap 
tain  in  the  United  States  Navy,  was  com 
mander  of  a  flotilla  of  gun-boats,  which, — as 
Burke  says  of  chivalry,  had  been  deemed  in 
our  country  the  cheap  defence  of  nations, — 
collected  for  the  protection  of  the  waters  of 
our  coast,  from  Newport  to  New  York. 

In  the  winter  of  1812-13,  he  was  ordered  to 
Lake  Eric,  to  take  the  command,  and  provide 
a  fleet  for  that  station.  The  enemy  had  then, 


on  tliose  waters,  •  two  ships,  two  brigs,  and 
several  schooners  and  sloops,  in  all,  mounting 
more  than  sixty-four  guns.  The  Americans 
had  the  Caledonia,  a  brig,  afterwards  mount 
ing  three  guns,  and  two  or  three  unarmed 
small  schooners  or  sloops.  The  British  had, 
by  land  as  well  as  by  water,  the  entire  com 
mand  of  that  lake  ;  and  the  frontier,  border 
ing  upon  it,  was  at  the  mercy  of  General  Proc 
tor  and  his  savage  allies. 

Commodore  Perry  arrived  at  Erie  on  the 
26th  of  March,  1813.  He  carried  with  him 
from  Newport,  149  men  and  3  boys,  all  of 
whom  were  volunteers.  Some  were  commis 
sioned  officers,  some  warrant  officers,  some  ar 
tificers,  some  seamen,  and  some  ordinary  sea 
men.  About  one  third  of  the  petty  officers  and 
men  remained  at  Sackett's  Harbor,  for  service 
on  Lake  Ontario.  This  was  done  by  the  order 
of  Commodore  Chauncey,  the  commander  on 
that  lake.  It  greatly  retarded  the  operations 
of  Perry  on  lake  Erie  ;  and  was,  doubtless,  in 
tended  by  Chauncey  to  have  that  effect.  They 
had  left  Newport,  February  19th,  with  Perry, 


LECTURE.  19 

and  had  volunteered  from  pure  personal  at 
tachment  to  him. 

Nothing-  can  show  this  attachment  to  Perry 
more  strongly  than  the  fact,  that  James  Wea 
ver,  a  master's  mate,  who,  a  boy,  when  Bar 
ton  captured  Prescott,  was  then  his  guide, 
now  volunteered  to  go  to  Erie  with  his  gallant 
young  townsman,  in  the  dead  of  winter,  to 
this  unknown  northern  service. 

The  fleet  of  Eneas,  so  Maro  sings,  when 
riding  at  anchor  in  the  Tyber,  and,  in  his  ab 
sence  attacked  by  the  Rutulians,  and  likely  to 
be  burned,  was,  by  a  miracle  of  poetic  my 
thology,  changed  into  a  shoal  of  dolphins,  and 
went  offspor  ing  down  the  stream  ;  and  if  so, 
they  may,  for  aught  we  know,  be  at  this  time 
playing  about  the  mouth  of  that  river ;  or 
shewing  their  bright  sides  to  the  sun,  in  other 
parts  of  the  Tyreari  sea. 

Perry,  and  his  hardy  Rhode-Island  mari 
ners,  travelled  up  to  the  lake,  for  something 
not  quite  so  poetic. 

They  were  required  to  change  the  oaks,  and 
the  green  pines  and  hemlocks,  then  standing 
on  those  shores,  into  a  fleet  of  ships  and  ves- 


20  LECTURE. 

sels,  and  fit  them  out  to  encounter,  and  over 
come,  in  battle,  on  those  waters,  a  fleet  then 
armed,  equipped  and  manned  with  British  sail 
ors  ;  men,  who  had  never,  before  that  time, 
met  an  equal,  in  any  fleet,  on  that  element. 

In  this  there  was  no  poetry,  nor  any  other 
miracle  than  bone  labor,  matchless  skill,  and 
unconquerable  bravery. 

Every  Yankee  is  an  axe  man  ;  and  all  the 
companions  of  Perry  were  of  the  full  blood  ; 
and  most  of  them  the  best  of  that  blood,  the 
Rhode-Island  stock. 

These,  with  a  few  more  shipwrights,  smiths, 
caulkers,  riggers,  and  sailmakers,  built  and 
equipped  this  fleet ;  and  launched  the  whole 
into  the  harbor  of  Erie,  rigged  and  ready  to 
sail,  in  about  ninety  days,  after  the  first  blow 
was  struck. 

They  built  from  the  stump,  six  vessels  ;  the 
Lawrence,  of  twenty  guns — two  long  twelves, 
and  eighteen  24  pound  carronades  ;  the  Nia 
gara,  of  two  long  twelves,  and  eighteen  24 
pound  carronades  ;  the  Ariel,  of  four  guns,  18's 
and  24's  ;  the  Scorpion,  of  two  guns,  thirty- 


LECTURE.  21 

twos  ;  the  Porcupine,  of  one  gun,  a  thirty-two; 
and  the  Tigress,  of  one  gun,  a  thirty-two. 

During  the  same  time,   they  repaired  and 
made  efficient,   the  Caledonia,  of  three  guns, 
24's  and  32's ;  the  Somers,  of  two  guns,  thir 
ty-twos  ;  the  Trippe,  of  one  gun,  a  thirty-twc 
and  the  Ohio,  of  like  force,  but  not  in 
battle. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  of  Erie,  there  is 
a  bar  ;  and  on  this>  the  water  was  then  so 
shallow,  that  the  vessels  could  not  be  floated 
out  over  it.  They  had  been  built  in  this  place, 
because,  in  no  other  on  the  lake,  could  they 
be  secure  from  the  enemy. 

To  carry  them  out  over  the  bar,  in  the  face 
of  this  enemy,  superior  in  force,  had  they  all 
been  furnished  with  guns,  and,  as  it  must  be, 
entirely  unarmed,  was  a  labor,  which  tasked 
the  Yankee  invention,  no  less  than  the  valor, 
of  the  young  Commodore  and  his  associates. 

They  were  loaded  on  the  backs  of  camels, 

and  carried  out  over  the  bar  into  deep  water. 

An  Arab,  who,  from  the  back  of  his  camel,  on 

the  desert,  had,  at  a  safe  distance,  looked  at 

2* 


22  LECTURE, 

the  French  and  English  fleets,  in  the  bay  of 
Abouker,  would  not  believe  a  word  of  all  this 
story. 

It  is  literally  true.  These  camels  were  of 
simple  mechanism,  and  American  manufac 
ture.  They  were  long-,  broad,  deep  boxes, 
made  of  planks,  like  scows,  and  perfectly  wa 
ter  tight ;  with  holes  to  fill,  and  sink,  and 
pumps  to  exhaust  them  of  water,  and  raise 
them  so  as  to  float  with  their  upper  edge  high 
above  the  surface.  These,  placed  on  each 
side,  and  connected  by  strong  beams,  on  which 
the  vessels  being  placed  when  they  were  sunk; 
thus  raised  the  vessels  up  above  the  bar,  when 
the  camels  were  pumped  out,  and  rose  again 
by  their  own  buoyancy. 

The  guns  of  the  fleet  had  been  mounted  in 
batteries  on  the  shore ;  and  the  militia,  under 
General  Mead,  then  encamped  in  the  neigh 
borhood,  were  embodied,  and  united  with  the 
seamen  in  defending  these  vessels,  while  they 
were  thus  travelling  over  the  bar,  on  the 
backs  of  these  able  bodied  camels. 

Thus,  in  the  face  of  an  enemy,  superior  in 
force,  this  fleet  was  built,  put  afloat,  and 


LECTURE.  23 

equipped.  The  enemy,  however,  before  they 
were  ready  to  make  sail,  withdrew  to  the  har 
bor  near  Maiden  ;  and  retired  under  the  guns 
of  the  British  fortress. 

The  American  fleet,  when  ready  for  sailing, 
consisted  of  the  Lawrence,  the  flag  vessel  of 
Commodore  Perry ;  the  Niagara,  afterwards 
Captain  Elliott ;  the  Caledonia,  Lieutenant 
Turner ;  the  Ariel,  Lieutenant  Packett ;  the 
Scorpion,  Sailing-Master  Champlin  ;  the  Som- 
ers,  Sailing-Master  Almy  ;  the  Trippe,  Lieu 
tenant  Stevens  ;  the  Tigress,  Lieutenant  Conk- 
lin  ;  the  Porcupine,  Midshipman  Smith.  The 
Ohio  had  sailed  down  the  lake,  on  other  ser 
vice,  before  the  10th  of  September,  and  was 
not  in  the  battle. 

These  nine  vessels,  mounted,  in  all,  fifty-four 
guns ;  ten  less  than  the  British  fleet.  The 
Lawrence,  the  Niagara,  the  Caledonia,  the 
Ariel,  and  the  Scorpion,  were  all  equally  good 
and  fine  sailers ;  but  the  Somers,  Trippe,  Ti 
gress,  and  Porcupine,  were  dull. 

The  British  vessels  were  stout  built,  with 
thick  bulwarks  of  solid  oak  ;  but  the  Ameri 
can  were  built  in  a  hasty  manner,  and  intend- 


24  LECTURE. 

ed  merely  to  carry  guns  and  men  ;  and  bring 
them  down  along  side  of  their  adversary. 

So  soon  as  Perry  had  mounted  his  guns  on 
board,  he  pushed  out  on  a  cruise  ;  but  manned 
in  a  considerable  part  by  brave  fellows  from 
the  militia.  They  run  up,  and  over  the  lake, 
to  the  British  side,  and  passed  their  fleet,  then 
in  port ;  but  no  movement  being  made  by  the 
enemy  to  come  out,  and  capture  the  Ameri 
cans,  they  leisurely  sailed  down  the  lake,  and 
then  up  again  to  their  port,  at  Put-in-Bay. 

At  the  pressing  request  of  Perry,  Commo 
dore  Chauncey  sent  him  one  hundred  men,  up 
from  Ontario,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Elliot.  He  took  the  command  of  the  Niagara, 
before  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Turner,  of 
Newport.  The  one  hundred  men,  brought 
with  him,  were  all  able  bodied,  and  had  been 
in  considerable  service,  on  the  waters  of  On 
tario  and  Erie.  Most  of  these  went  on  board 
the  Niagara,  with  Elliot.  This  gave  that  ves 
sel  a  decided  superiority,  in  that  respect,  to 
any  other  in  the  fleet. 

In  model,  in  equipment,  in  rigging,  sails  and 
movement,  she  was,  before  that,  on  a  par 


LECTURE.  25 

with  the  Lawrence  ;  and  these  men  having 
been  in  more  service,  more  brave  they  could 
not  be,  gave  the  Niagara  a  decided  superiority 
in  that  respect,  to  the  Lawrence. 

Lieutenant  Turner  mentioned  this  to  Com 
modore  Perry,  when  Elliot  was  calling  the 
men  who  came  with  him,  to  their  several 
stations  ;  but  because  Elliot  had  brought 
them  up  to  Erie  with  him,  the  Commodore 
declined  altering  his  arrangement. 

The  deficiency  of  men  in  the  fleet,  was 
supplied  by  brave  fellows,  volunteering  from 
the  ranks  of  General  Harrison's  army. 

This  army  was  then  encamped  ia  the  neigh 
borhood  of  the  fleet ;  and  waiting  the  event 
of  the  battle,  which,  it  was  believed,  would 
enable  the  Commodore  to  transport  the  Gen 
eral  and  his  troops,  to  the  other  side,  to  en 
counter  General  Proctor,  and  the  British 
forces  then  near  Maiden. 

The  Americans  were  eager  to  engage,  and 
open  the  way  into  Canada.  General  Harrison 
and  his  brave  companions,  were  anxious  to 
have  an  opportunity  to  wash  off  in  their  own 
blood,  the  foul  blot,  placed  on  the  American 


26  LECTURE. 

character,  by  the  retreat,  and  surrender  of 
Maiden  and  Detroit ;  and  by  driving  the 
British  and  their  Indian  allies,  from  Upper 
Canada,  to  secure  the  frontiers  of  Michigan, 
Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  New-York. 

How  long  the  British  fleet  might  have  kept 
their  shelter,  in  the  harbor  of  Maiden,  is  not 
known.  Exigencies  called  them  out ;  the 
want  of  provision,  in  the  British  army,  com 
pelled  them  to  put  out,  and  attempt  to  clear 
the  lake  of  the  American  fleet;  so  that  they 
might,  with  safety,  run  down  to  Long  Point, 
their  depot  of  stores,  and  provision  the  camp. 

The  British  fleet  had  a  veteran  commander, 
the  American,  a  young  sailor.  Barclay  had 
conquered  with  Nelson,  at  Trafalgar;  Perry  had 
probably  never  seen  the  combined  movement  of 
ships,  in  a  fleet,  formed  in  line  of  battle. 

The  two  fleets  might  be  equal  in  number  of 
men  ;  but  all,  in  the  British,  were  seamen,  or 
marines,  or  soldiers ;  while  many,  in  the 
American,  were  militia,  or  new  levies,  from 
the  ranks  of  the  army. 

In  number  of  vessels,  we  exceeded  by  three  ; 
the  enemy  had  a  superiority  of  ten  in  the 


LECTURE. 


27 


number  of  guns.  The  vessels  of  the  enemy 
were  impervious  to  the  shot  of  our  carronades: 
but  their  long-  guns  hulled  the  thin  sides  of 
our  vessels,  through  and  through.  Let  him 
be  praised  who  has  told  us  that  "  the  battle 
is  not  always  to  the  strong." 

T\vo  of  the  British  vessels  were  ships;  none 
of  the  American  were  better  provided  with 
masts,  spars,  rigging,  and  sails,  than  brigs 
might  carry.  The  Detroit,  Commodore  Bar 
clay's  flag  ship,  had  nineteen  guns  only;  but 
they  were  long  12's,  18's  and  24's.  He  was 
supported  in  his  command,  by  Captain  Fin- 
nis,  of  the  Queen  Charlotte ;  in  the  whole 
fleet  were  three  Captains  and  the  Commodore. 
While  in  the  American,  there  was  but  two 
Ctptains,  Perry  and  Elliot ;  all  the  other  ves 
sels  were  commanded  by  Lieutenants,  Sailing- 
Masters,  or  Midshipmen. 

The  evening  before  the  battle,  the  order  of 
engagement  was  settled.  By  this,  Captain 
Elliot,  in  the  Niagara,  was  to  lead  the  van; 
and  it  was  determined,  to  attack  the  enemy, 
at  their  anchorage,  if  they  did  not  come  out 
to  engage.  On  the  morning  of  the  10th,  when 


2S  LECTURE. 

the  enemy  hove  in  sight,  and  had  formed  with 
their  flag1  ship  at  the  head  of  the  line  ;  Perry 
who  had  determined  to  attack  that  ship  him 
self,  changed  the  order  of  sailing,  run  down  to 
the  encounter,  and  took  the  van  himself. 

This  change  in  ike  order  of  sailing,  was  in 
stantly  communicated  to  the  whole  fleet,  by 
signal. 

The  young  Commodore,  at  the  close  of  the 
council  of  war,  on  the  evening  of  the  9th,  told 
his  officers  that  he  could  not  better  advise 
them  than  in  the  words  of  Nelson  :  "  If  you  lay 
your  enemy  along  side,  you  cannot  be  out  of  your 
place." 

He  then  gave  the  order  to  each  command 
ing  officer  of  the  fleet,  in  writing.  This  order 
closed  with  these  words  :  "  Engage  each  your 
designated  adversary,  in  close  action,  at  half  cable's 
length."  In  this  designation  the  Lawrence 
was  opposed  to  the  Detroit ;  the  Caledonia, 
with  three  guns,  to  the  Hunter  with  ten  ;  the 
Niagara,  to  the  Queen  Charlotte. 

In  the  American  fleet,  defectively  manned, 
as  they  were,  one  hundred  and  sixteen  men 
and  officers,  were  on  the  sick-list,  and  unfit  for 


LECTURE.  29 

duty  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  Septem 
ber,  1813,  when  they  made  sail,  and  stood  out 
to  encounter  the  enemy. 

I  have,  perhaps,  been  prolix,  in  stating-  the 
particular  circumstances  of  these  two  fleets  ; 
because  I  find  myself  placed  in  the  condition, 
not  of  the  eulogist,  but  of  the  historian  ;  and, 
under  the  most  solemn  obligation  to  do  exact 
justice,  even  here,  in  this  very  limited  num 
ber  of  American  people  assembled  in  this 
place  :  to  do  justice,  I  say,  in  every  word  I  ut 
ter  ;  and  that,  too,  between  the  living  and  the 
dead. 

For  after  a  lapse  of  more  than  twenty-two 
years,  from  the  day  of  that  memorable  battle, 
and  fourteen  years  after  Commodore  Perry 
has  been  laid  in  his  grave;  while,  during  all 
this  period  of  time,  America  and  Europe, 
have,  with  one  voice,  awarded  to  him  the 
honor  of  this  triumphant  victory,  Captain 
Elliot  has,  very  lately,  claimed  that  honor  for 
himself. 

In  the  summer  of  1836,  a  book  of  480  octavo 
pages,  was  published  at  Philadelphia,  as  it 
purports  ;  but  with  the  name  of  no  printer  and 


3-0  LECTURE. 

no  writer  annexed  to  it.  This  book  is  entitled 
"  Biographical  Notes  of  Commodore  Jesse  D. 
Elliot."  About  250  pages  of  this  book  are 
devoted  to  an  account  of  the  battle  on  Lake 
Erie.  It  contains  a  great  number  of  letters, 
addressed  to  Commodore  Elliot,  and  which 
could  be  controlled  by  no  one  but  himself. 
The  book  must,  therefore,  be  regarded  as 
autobiography. 

Commodore  Perry,  in  the  moment  of  victo 
ry,  flushed  with  youth  and  triumph  :  on  the 
eve  of  the  I Oth,  says,  in  his  first  despatch  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  c;  It  has  pleased 
the  Mnighty  to  give  the  arms  of  the  United 
States  a  signal  victory  over  their  enemies 
on  this  lake." 

Commodore  Elliot,  who,  on  that  day,  com 
manded  the  Niagara,  says  in  the  35th  page  of 
his  book  :  "  It  is  not  doing  too  much  to  say, 
that  to  him,"  Jesse  D.  Elliot,  "  the  country  in 
principally  indebted  for  the  honor  of  that  splendid 
victory." 

In  page  195,  he  repeats  that  "  it  is  proved  to 
the  satisfaction  of  every  candid  reader,  that  Captain 
Elliot  was  CHIEFLY  instrumental  in  gaming  the 


LECTURE.  SI 

victory  on  Lake  .Erie."  These  are  sweeping 
claims  ;  they  should  be  examined  with  candor 
and  without  resentment. 

Jesse  D.  Elliot,  now  a  Commodore  in  the 
United  States  navy,  comes  with  his  claim 
against  Oliver  Hazard  Perry,  in  his  grave, 
for  a  reversal  of  the  long  established  judgment 
of  the  world.  He  calls  Pennsylvania,  the 
State  where-he  was  born,  to  support  his  claim 
against  Rhode-Island,  the  birth-place  of  Perry. 
If  Rhode-Island  never  before  lowered  her  flag 
to  Pennsylvania,  yet,  if  justice  require  it,  let 
her  lower  it  now.  Nevertheless,  first  of  all, 
review  the  case  ;  and  then  decide.  I  will,  im 
partially,  str.:c  the  facts  ;  and  you,  in  the  same 
spirit,  may  judge. 

On  the  night  of  the  9th  of  September,  1813, 
the  American  fleet  lay  moored  at  Put-in-Bay, 
on  the  southwest  shore  of  Erie.  At  daylight 
on  the  10th,  the  enemy  were  discovered  from 
the  mast  head  of  the  Lawrence,  far  up  the 
lake  in  the  northwest.  This  was,  by  signal, 
immediately  communicated  to  the  fleet  ;  and, 
at  the  same  time,  the  signal  was  given  to  get 
onder  weigh.  Perry  told  his  officers  and  men, 


3  LECTURE. 

that  the  enemy  should  fight  that  day.  The 
wind  being  southwest,  and  light,  the  Commo 
dore  inquired  of  Sailing-Master  Taylor  wheth 
er  he  could  work  out  of  the  bay,  to  the  wind 
ward  of  the  islands,  at  the  mouth  of  it.  When 
told  he  could  not,  "then,"  said  he,  "wear 
ship  ;  go  out  to  the  leeward,  and  give  the  en 
emy  the  wind  of  us."  Before  this  could  be 
done,  the  wind  started  from  southwest  to 
southeast,  and  gave  our  squadron  a  fair  pas 
sage  out,  to  the  windward  of  that  of  the  ene 
my.  By  this  event,  the  American  fleet,  and 
every  vessel  of  them,  was  enabled  to  take  and 
to  keep  any  distance,  from  her  adversary,  which 
each  of  them  might  choose.  This  fact  must  be 
continually  recollected,  as  we  go  on  through 
the  whole  conflict.  There  had  been  a  strug 
gle,  by  the  English  Commodore,  to  get  the 
weathergage  ;  but,  as  it  appears,  after  the 
wind  had  shifted,  and  settled  into  the  south 
east,  he  gave  it  up,  and  at  10  o'clock,  A.  M., 
hove  to  in  a  line  of  battle,  with  his  ships 
heading  to  the  westward,  and  at  the  distance 
of  about  three  leagues, 


LECTURE.  33 

Commodore  Perry,  soon  after,  hoisted  his 
broad  pennant  on  board  the  Lawrence,  in 
scribed  with  the  immortal  words  of  him  whose 
name  his  vessel  bore — "  Don't  give  up  the  ship." 
And  at  the  sight  of  it,  the  load  huzzas  of  the 
mariners  resounded  over  the  lake,  from  deck 
to  deck,  along1  the  whole  American  line  ;  and 
awakened  the  echoes  which  had  been  sleep 
ing  on  those  waters  and  shores,  ever  since  the 
morning  stars  sang  together.  Our  fleet  ap 
proached  the  enemy,  at  an  angle  of  about  thirty 
degrees  ;  so  that,  when  the  van-ship,  the  Law 
rence,  came  into  close  action  with  the  Detroit, 
the  third,  the  Niagara,  might  be  out  of  car- 
ronade  shot  distance.  The  signal  was  given, 
by  the  Commodore,  for  each  ship  to  engage 
her  adversary,  as  she  came  up,  and  as  desig 
nated  in  previous  orders.  Remember,  those 
orders  made  the  Lawrence  the  adversary  of 
the  Detroit,  the  Caledonia  of  the  Hunter,  and 
the  Niagara  of  the  Queen  Charlotte ;  and 
there,  in  full  view,  lay  those  gallant  British 
adversaries,  with  topsails  back  to  the  mast, 
with  matches  lighted,  coolly  waiting  for  the 
attack  and  the  conflict. 


34  LECTURE. 

The  breeze  being  light,  the  American  fleet 
was  two  hours  in  bearing  down  under  all  sail 
over  this  smooth  surface  of  nine  miles.  The 
wind,  though  light,  was  steady;  and  not  a 
new  movement  was  made  in  steerage,  running 
geer,  or  sail.  All  were  silent.  It  was,  in 
both  fleets,  the  stillness  of  the  elements,  be 
fore  the  storm  of  the  hurricane.  I  will  not 
believe  one  bosom  palpitated  with  fear ;  but 
many  a  one  beat  with  an  aspiration,  and  a 
hope  for  victory.  In  that  awful  pause,  when 
at  times,  every  eye  glanced  on  every  other 
eye,  and  all  were  mingling  souls  in  a  sympa 
thy  of  courage  arid  daring  among  their  com 
rades  and  commanders,  how  many  young 
hearts,  for  the  last  time,  breathed  a  sigh  and 
prayed  a  prayer,  for  home,  parents,  brothers, 
sisters,  and  for  "  the  bosom  friend  dearer  than 
all  ?"  Many  a  bright  and  moist  eye  looked, 
for  the  last  time,  on  the  green  shores  and 
sunny  hills  of  their  country.  Rashness,  with 
out  courage,  may  rush  thoughtlessly  into  the 
battle;  but  nothing  but  valor  of  soul  can  stand 
unmoved,  and  wait  for  the  coming  conflict  of 
life  or  death,  victory  or  defeat. 


LECTURE.  35 

They  stood  every  man  silent  at  his  post ; 
while  the  breath  of  heaven,  born  to  fill  the 
sails  of  commerce,  and  which  never  had  be 
fore,  seemed  reluctant  now,  on  those  quiet 
waters,  to  aid  men  in  mutual  destruction. 

At  fifteen  minutes  before  12,  JVL,  Commodore 
Perry  gave  the  signal  for  close  action-;  and 
then  by  trumpet;  sent  down,  from  ship  to  ship, 
along  the  whole  line,  a  repetition  of  the  order, 
u  Engage  your  adversary,  each  as  you  come 
up,  as  before  directed."  This,  be  it  remem 
bered,  was,  in  close  action  at  half  cable's  length. 

At  fifteen  minutes  before  12,  M.,  the  British 
Commodore  commenced  the  action,  by  a  dis 
charge  from  his  long  guns,  at  the  Lawrence. 
Perry  still  bore  down  in  gallant  style,  and 
retained  his  fire,  receiving  that  of  the  enemy, 
until  the  British  began  to  apprehend,  that  his 
design  was  to  board.  At  five  minutes  before 
12,  M.,  Perry  opened  his  fire.  Not  intending 
to  lose  a  single  shot,  he  ordered  the  first  divi 
sion  only  of  his  broadside  to  be  fired.  He 
then  inquired  of  Lieutenant  Yarnall  if  the  shot 
of  his  earronades  told?  Being  answered  in  the 
negative,  he  ordered  Sailing-Master  Taylor 


36  LECTURE, 

to  direct  the  helm  put  up,  and  run  down,  and 
close  in  with  the  enemy.  He  ran  down,  till 
every  carronade  and  every  musket  might 
reach  its  mark.  Taylor  says  within  canister 
distance ;  Perry  says,  in  his  dispatch  and  ac 
count  of  the  battle,  at  half  canister  ;  and  Yar- 
nall,  who  was  ordered  to  note  if  the  shot  told, 
says  at  half  musket  shot ;  50  yards,  150  feet ; 
not  quite  so  far  as  from  where  I  stand  to  the 
foot  of  the  bridge.  In  this  position,  at  this 
slaughtering  distance,  the  Lawrence  encoun 
tered  the  Detroit,  and  there  sustained  the 
conflict  with  her,  and  the  vessels  which  came 
to  her  aid,  for  two  and  one  half  hours.  The 
Ariel,  Lieutenant  Packett,  and  the  Scorpion, 
Sailing-Master  Charnplin,  were  just  ahead, 
on  her  weather  bow ;  and  the  Caledonia, 
Lieutenant  Turner,  just  astern,  on  her  lee 
ward  quarter,  during  almost  the  whole  ac 
tion.* 

The  Niagara  was  astern  of  the  Lawrence, 
and  the  Caledonia  abeam  of  the  Queen  Char 
lotte  in  the  line  of  approach,  when  the  action 


'See  Diagram,  No.  1,  in  the  Appendix. 


LECTURE.  37 

commenced.  She,  at  first,  discharged  her 
first  division  ;  but  when  their  shot  fell  short 
of  the  Queen  Charlotte,  Captain  Elliot  did  not 
order  the  helm  put  up,  and  run  down  to  within 
half  cable's  length  of  his  adversary,  the  Queen 
Charlotte  ;  but  it  is  admitted,  by  him  in  his  book, 
that  he  directed  his  Lieutenant  to  cease  firing 
with  the  carronades,  audfire  with  the  long  twelves 
only.  The  Queen  Charlotte  had  20's,  to  the 
Niagara's  24  pound  carronades,  but  no  long 
guns  ;  and,  therefore,  as  she  could  neither  reach 
the  Niagara  with  her  carronades,  nor  run  up 
AGAINST  the  wind,  and  lay  her  along  side,  she 
packed  on  all  sail,  and  run  down  to  the  aid  of 
the  Detroit  arid  laid  the  Lawrence  and  the 
Caledonia  along  side  at  half  past  12  o'clock, 
M.  For  the  Hunter  had  just  made  sail,  and 
run,  not  from  the  conflict  with  the  Caledonia, 
but  up  to  the  head  of  the  line,  to  aid  the  Lit 
tle  Belt,  against  the  Scorpion  and  the  Ariel. 

This  movement  of  the  Queen  Charlotte,  is 
by  Captain  Elliot,  in  his  autobiography,  styled, 
her  making  sail,  and  running  away  from  the  Ni 
agara  ;  but  he  does  not  say  he  made  sail  and 
run  down  after  her,  as  he  might :  For  if  there 


38  LECTURE. 

were  wind  enough  for  the  Queen  Charlotte  to 
run  away,  there  was  wind  enough  for  the  Ni 
agara  to  run  after  her.  He  admits,  in  that 
book,  that  instead  of  making  all  sail,  and  run 
ning  down  upon  his  adversary,  the  Queen 
Charlotte,  as  he  had  been  ordered  to  do,  no 
less  than  three  times,  and  engaging  her  at 
half  cable's  length,  he  threw  his  topsail  to 
the  mast  and  brailed  up  his  jib,  so  as  to  keep 
his  position  on  the  water  as  nearly  as  practi 
cable.  Every  nautical  man  will  tell  us  that 
this  position  of  the  sails  would  hold  his  ship 
to  the  wind,  and  keep  her  in  her  then  present 
place  ;  so  that,  all  the  ships  engaged,  would 
be  sagging  slowly  ahead,  and  to  the  leeward ; 
until  the  Caledonia  and  the  Lawrence  were 
directly  between  the  Niagara  and  the  Detroit 
and  the  Queen  Charlotte.  If  he  fired  then,  it 
must  have  been  at  the  Chippewa  of  one  gun. 
For  the  Lady  Prevost  had  been  wounded  in 
the  rudder,  and  soon  fell  to  the  leeward  out 
of  the  reach  of  his  carronades  or  long  guns. 
If,  then,  after  one  o'clock,  the  Niagara  fired 
at  the  Detroit  or  the  Queen  Charlotte,  it  must 


LECTURE.  39 

have  been  across  the  Lawrence  and  the  Cale 
donia.* 

The  Somers,  of  two  32's,  and  the  Trippe  of 
one  32,  were  astern  of  the  Niagara  for  a  long 
time  ;  for  they  had  been  destined  to  support 
the  Niagara,  as  the  Ariel  and  the  Scorpion 
supported  the  Lawrence.  The  Tigress  and 
the  Porcupine,  both  dull  sailers,  armed  with 
each  a  thirty-two,  were  still  more  astern  of 
the  Niagara.  These  four  gun-boats  were,  with 
their  heavy  ordnance,  firing  at  long  shots  on 
the  Chippewa  and  Lady  Prevost. 

The  Lawrence  for  two  and  a  half  hours  sus 
tained  the  fire  of  the  Detroit ;  and  for  two 
hours,  that  of  the  Detroit,  Queen  Charlotte, 
and  most  of  that  of  the  Hunter  ;  forty-four 
guns,  with  all  the  marines,  at  half  musket 
shot. 

The  British  Commodore  ordered  all  his  fire 
from  all  three  vessels  turned  on  the  Lawrence. 
For  here  he  believed  was  the  bone  and  mus 
cle,  and  here  he  knew  was  the  soul  and  spirit 
of  the  battle.  If  Perry  were  slain,  and  his 

*See  Diagram,  No.  2,  in  the  Appendix. 


40  LECTURE, 

ship  captured,  the  smaller  vessels  would  fall 
of  course.  He  seems  not  to  have  regarded 
the  Niagara  as  then  in  the  action. 

Elliot,  in  his  autobiography,  declares  that 
it  was  evidently  the  plan  of  the  British  com 
mander,  to  disable  our  heaviest  ships,  in  de 
tail  ;  and  thus  to  insure  the  capture  of  the 
whole.  In  proof  of  this,  he  asserts,  and  this 
assertion  is  literally  true,  that  at  half  past  12, 
the  Queen  Charlotte  made  all  sail  and  left  the 
Niagara,  and  bore  down  and  attacked  and  di 
rected  all  her  fire  on  the  Lawrence. 

Why,  then,  in  the  name  of  bravery  and  fair 
companionship,  did  not  he,  with  the  same 
wind  and  enough  sail,  and  as  much  speed, 
bear  down  and  follow  her  ?  Why  did  he,  as 
he  admits  he  did,  fling  his  topsail  to  the  mast, 
furl  his  top-gallant  sails,  and  brail  up  his  jib  ? 
Why  did  he,  for  two  hours  after  the  Queen 
Charlotte  left  him,  leave  the  Lawrence  ex 
posed  to  the  murderous  fire  of  forty-four  guns, 
supported  only  by  nine  in  the  Caledonia,  Ariel? 
and  Scorpion  ;  whilst  he  had  twenty,  with  the 
wind  whistling  into  their  muzzles,  when  he 
might  have  been  pouring  the  round,  grape. 


LECTURE.  41 

and  canister,  roaring  out  of  them,  against  the 
enemy,  at  half  rnusket  shot  ?  There  is  no  evi 
dence  that  a  musket,  or  more  than  one  divi 
sion  of  one  broadside  of  the  carronades,  was 
fired  on  board  the  Niagara,  or  that  this  was 
more  than  once  discharged.  It  does  not  satis 
factorily  appear  that  after  this  first  division, 
any  thing  was  fired  during  the  whole  two 
hours  and  a  half,  except  the  two  long  twelves, 
or  until  Perry  boarded  her  at  45  minutes  after 
2  o'clock,  P.  M. 

On  board  the  Lawrence,  as  an  eye-witness 
has  stated,  the  most  perfect  order  prevailed 
during  the  whole  action.  There  was  no  noise, 
no  bustle,  no  confusion ;  as  fast  as  the  men 
were  wounded,  they  were  carried  below,  and 
others  stepped  into  their  places.  The  dead 
lay  where  they  fell,  until  the  action  was  over. 
Commodore  Perry,  during  the  whole  time, 
says  this  eye  witness,  exhibited  a  cool,  col 
lected,  and  dignified  bravery  ;  his  countenance 
was,  the  whole  time,  as  composed  as  if  he  had 
been  engaged  in  ordinary  duty. 

Not  a  murmur,  not  a  complaint,  was  heard 
in  the  ship  ;  while  the  balls — canister,  grape. 


i^;  LECTURE. 

and  bullets,  were  sweeping  over,  and  driving 
through  them,  like  a  storm  of  hail ;  the  slain 
and  the  wounded  falling  on  every  side  ;  and 
the  blood  gushing,  in  streams  over  the  decks, 
from  many  a  young  and  gallant  heart. 

There  was  one,  and  but  one  sentiment  of 
regret,  and  throughout  all  the  battle,  that  was 
discoverable.  It  was  expressed,  at  times,  in, 
words,  to  the  commander,  by  Yarnall,  by 
Taylor,  by  Forrest.  It  was  uttered,  in  groans, 
by  the  wounded,  when  carried  below  ;  and 
breathed  out  with  the  last  breath,  by  the  dying 
on  the  deck  ;  and  the  gallant  Laub,  the  brave 
and  accomplished  Brooks,  lifting  a  last  eye  to 
heaven,  and  sending  a  last  wish  to  home,  died 
with  this  bitter  regret  on  their  lips — "  Why, 
why  does  not  the  Niagara  come  down  and  help  us  /" 

Perry  could  say  nothing  to  the  severely 
wounded,  or  to  the  dead;  but  of  the  unhurt,  and 
those  who  though  wounded  kept,  or  returned 
to  the  deck,  he  was  the  life  and  soul.  Un 
touched  himself,  and,  covered,  as  he  must 
have  been  on  that  day,  by  a  shield,  impen 
etrable,  though  invisible  ;  he,  from  hour  to 
hour,  continued  to  encourage  and  cheer  them 


LECTURE.  43 

all  to  fight  on,  till  their  consort  should  come  down 
nnd  take  her  part  in  the  battle.  He,  himself, 
worked  with  his  own  hands  at  the  last  gun  ; 
and  when  that  was  disabled,  by  a  shot  of  the 
enemy,  he  had  but  himself,  his  little  brother, 
and  fourteen  men  alive,  and  unhurt  on  board. 
Then,  when  Lieutenant  Yarnall,  and  his  other 
officers,  Taylor,  and  Forrest,  again  uttered 
their  astonishment,  that  the  Niagara  still 
hugged  the  wind,  and  kept  at  a  distance,  freshened 
as  the  breeze  was,  by  such  a  blaze  from  so 
many  guns,  for  two  arid  a  half  hours  ;  cc  Lower 
the  boat,"  he  exclaimed,  "  and  I  will  go  and 
bring  her  down."  The  boat— yes,while  the  ship 
was  a  mere  n  reck,  in  that  storm  of  battle,  the 
boat  was  lowered  away  from  the  quarter  where 
she  had  been  hung  swinging  as  a  mark  for  ev 
ery  shot,  and  was  at  that  moment,  like  the 
commander,  untouched  and  perfectly  sound. 
He  jumped  in,  with  his  broad  pennant  under 
his  arm  ;  and  his  last  words  to  Lieutenant 
Yarnall  were,  "  I  leave  it  to  your  discretion  to 
strike,  or  not ;  but  the  American  colors  must 
not  be  pulled  down  over  my  head  to-day." 
He  jumped  into  the  boat,  with  eight  stout  sea- 


44  LECTURE. 

men  at  the  oars  ;  and  put  off  at  thirty  minutes 
after  two,  for  the  Niagara.  The  British  ships 
soon  saw,  and  directed  and  discharged  their 
whole  fire  at  him,  standing,  as  he  did,  erect 
in  the  stern  of  the  boat.  Nor  was  it  the  show 
er  of  balls,  grape,  canister,  and  bullets,  but 
the  earnest  request,  and  entreating  tears  of 
his  crew,  which  induced  him  to  sit  down. 
With  all  the  speed  that  these  eight  men,  at 
the  oars,  could  give  to  the  boat,  and  she  must 
have  sprung  away  like  a  race  horse  trained 
to  the  course  ;  how  long  was  it  before  she 
reached  the  larboard  side  of  the  Niagara,  and 
the  Commodore  sprung  up  her  gangway  ? 
What  a  transition,  from  the  shattered  decks 
and  slaughtered  crew  of  the  Lawrence,  to  a 
ship  so  fresh,  that  as  he  said,  "  when  he  found 
the  guns,  spars,  sails,  rigging,  all  sound,  and 
not  a  man  killed  on  board,  he  stepped  lightly 
on  the  quarter  deck."  Elliot  was,  at  his  own 
request,  sent  along  the  line  of  gun-boats,  at 
several  distances  astern,  to  urge  down  the 
Somers,  Tigress,  and  Porcupine; 

The  Trippe,  Lieutenant  Stevens,   had   be 
fore  pushed  down  to  the  support  of  the  Gale- 


LECTURE.  45 

donia.  The  Commodore's  flag-  was  displayed  on 
the  Niagara,  and  the  signal  given  to  the  ves 
sels  astern,  for  close  action,  as  Perry  says,  at 
forty-five,  as  Yarnall  says,  at  forty-eight  min 
utes  after  two  o'clock. 

Soon  after  Perry  left  the  Lawrence,  she  fell 
astern  ;  and  Yarnall,  with  the  advice  of  the 
other  officers,  when  further  opposition  was  not 
practicable,  struck  the  colors.  While  these 
things  were  in  progress,  Lieutenant  Turner, 
before  lying  on  the  weather  quarter  of  the 
Detroit,  bore  down,  and  took  a  position  along 
side  of  that  vessel. 

Lieutenant  Stevens,  in  the  Trippe,  a  little 
sloop  of  one  long  thirty-two,  had  succeeded  to 
that  place,  so  long  held  by  Turner  in  the  Cal 
edonia,  on  the  weather  quarter  of  the  Detroit. 
These  gallant  young  men,  without  slackening 
their  fire,  had  exchanged  signals  for  boarding 
the  Detroit;  when  you  may  imagine  with  what 
delight  they  saw  the  gallant  Commodore  bear 
ing  down  in  the  Niagara,  under  a  press  of 
sail. 

He  broke  through  the  enemy's  line  ;  passed 

between  the  Hunter  and  Detroit,  at  half  pis- 
4* 


45  LECTURE. 

tol  shot,  thirty  feet,  from  each  ;  and  from  all 
his  guns  double  shotted  with  round,  grape,  or 
canister,  poured  his  broadsides  into  these 
devoted  vessels.  Rounding  to,  opposed  to 
the  taffrail  of  the  Queen  Charlotte,  then,  by 
her  bowsprit,  entangled  in  the  mizzen  rigging 
of  the  Detroit,  he  began  a  raking  fire,  from 
end  to  end  of  both  their  decks. 

The  Queen  Charlotte  in  this  situation,  and 
seeing  the  Somers,  then  commanded  by  Elliot, 
with  the  Tigress,  and  Porcupine,  pressing 
down  with  sweeps  and  sails,  struck  her  colors. 
The  call  being  made  to  the  Detroit,  she  gave 
up  the  contest.* 

The  Lady  Prevost  and  Hunter,  both  disa 
bled,  pulled  down  their  colors.  The  Little 
Belt,  at  the  head,  and  Chippewa  at  the  rear 
of  the  line,  made  all  sail  arid  run  ;  but  the 
Scorpion,  Lieutenant  Champlin,  and  Trippe, 
Lieutenant  Stevens,  pursued  ;  and  after  a 
close  chase,  took  and  brought  them  back. 
The  victory  was  won  ;  was  complete  ;  not  a 
sail  of  the  enemy  escaped. 

*See  Diagram,  No.  3,  in  the  Appendix. 


LECTURE.  47 

The  echo  of  the  cannon,  and  of  the  triumph 
ant  shout,  died  away  on  the  lake  and  the 
shores.  The  winds  of  heaven  swept  the 
volumes  of  smoke  off  from  the  shattered  fleets. 
The  setting  sun  looked  back  on  the  decks  and 
the  waters,  crimsoned  with  the  blood  of  the 
valiant. 

A  feeling  of  awe  is  on  the  heart  of  every 
living  man,  who  comes  unhurt  out  of  a  tremen 
dous  battle.  For  a  time  every  human  voice 
was  silent.  All  paused  ;  the  groans  of  the 
wounded  and  the  dying  only  were  heard. 
The  victors  were  too  proud  to  exult;  the  van 
quished,  too  brave  to  complain.  All  had,  that 
morning,  sent  a  seaman's  prayer  to  heaven 
for  success  in  the  same  language  ;  and  after 
the  conflict,  they  met  on  the  same  decks 
where  they  had  fought ;  and  mingled  saluta 
tions,  each  with  the  other,  in  his  own  mother 
tongue.  All  united  in  the  care  of  the  wound 
ed  and  the  burial  of  the  dead ;  and  these 
brave  officers,  American  and  British,  who  fell, 
cheering  their  seamen  on  to  mutual  conflict, 
were,  by  the  survivors,  laid  side  by  side  in 
their  graves,  on  the  shore  of  those  waters 


48  LECTURE. 

where  they  had  fallen,  and  were  alike  hon 
ored  and  lamented  by  the  mingled  tears  of 
friends  and  foes,  and  the  united  music  and  can 
non  of  both  fleets. 

The  brave  are  always  merciful  and  compas 
sionate  ;  Commodore  Barclay  expressed  the 
warmest  gratification  at  Perry's  attention  to 
his  wounded  prisoners  ;  said  he  had  earned 
by  it  for  himself  immortal  honor ;  and  after 
wards,  at  an  entertainment  and  ball  given  to 
him,  and  attended  by  the  bravery  and  beauty 
of  Canada,  he  gave  as  a  toast,  with  great  ap 
plause  ;  "  Commodore  Perry,  the  gallant  and 
generous  enemy." 

After  this  victory,*  Commodore  Perry,  with 
the  fleet,  transported  General  Harrison  and 
his  army  over  the  lake  ;  joined  the  forces  as 
volunteer  aid  of  the  Commander  in  Chief; 
was  with  General  Cass,  as  his  other  aid,  at 
his  side  in  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  where 
the  whole  army  of  Proctor  was  either  cap 
tured  or  destroyed. 

This  victory,  the  fruit  of  that  on  Lake  Erie, 


*See  Note  A. 


LECTURE.  49 

demolished  the  British  forces  in  Upper  Cana 
da  ;  dispersed  the  north-west  confederacy  of 
Indian  tribes  and  warriors  ;  who  immediately 
threw  themselves  on  the  mercy  of  the  United 
States  ;  and  thus  secured  the  whole  frontier, 
from  Lake  Ontario  to  the  Mississippi. 

This  fleet  of  Erie  isthe  first  American  fleet, 
which,  in  line  of  battle,  encountered  an  ene 
my.  It  was  commanded,  as  the  first  conti 
nental  fleet  had  been,  by  a  Rhode-Island  man  ; 
and  to  a  great  extent,  built,  and  officered,  and 
manned  by  Rhode-Island  men.  Will  the  peo 
ple  of  this  State  be  unmindful  of  the  reputation 
of  those  men  ;  their  own  fellow-citizens,  who 
laid  the  foundation,  and  raised  that  superstruc 
ture,  which  was  by  them,  aided  by  others 
equally  brave,  so  ornamented  and  adorned,  by 
such  victories  and  sucli  national  benefits  9 

How  mortifying  to  the  patriot,  that,  after 
more  than  twenty  years,  such  a  mist  of  delu 
sion  should  by  any  cause,  be  spread  over  any 
part  of  the  American  people  ;  that  any  one 
man  could  be  found  to  doubt  and  question  the 
title  of  Oliver  Hazard  Perry  to  the  glory  of 
that  distinguished  naval  victory  !  Still  more 


50  LECTURE. 

astonishing1,  that  title  is  not  only  questioned, 
but  another  has  boldly  claimed  that  glory  for 
himself. 

If  you  are  not  already  wearied  by  the  length 
of  this  narrative,  permit  me  to  state  two  or 
three  things,  which  are  either  admitted  by 
this  new  candidate  for  this  honor,  or  cannot 
be  controverted  by  him. 

At  the  close  of  the  battle,  Perry  set  up  no 
exclusive  claims  to  the  glory  of  the  victory.  He 
submitted  all,  with  unexampled  modesty,  to 
the  award  of  his  country. 

Look  at  his  despatches  ;  does  he  tell  what  / 
have  done  ?  To  General  Harrison — "  We  have 
met  the  enemy,  and  they  are  ours."  To  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy — "It  has  pleased  the 
Almighty  to  give  to  the  arms  of  the  United 
States  a  signal  victory  over  their  enemies  on 
this  lake.  The  British  squadron  consisting  of 
two  ships,  two  brigs,  one  schooner,  and  one 
sloop,  have  this  moment  surrendered  to  the 
force  under  my  command,  after  a  sharp  con 
flict." 

Nothing  can  be  so  conspicuous  as  the  mo 
desty,  unless  it  be  the  piety,  of  this  most  per- 


LECTURE.  51 

feet  of  all  naval  despatches.  How  could  he 
say  less  of  himself  ?  The  victory  had  been 
given  by  Him  who  gives  all  things— had  been 
given,  not  to  him,  bat  to  the  American  arms. 
The  British  squadron  had  surrendered  to  the 
force  ;  what  force  ?  He  could  not  avoid  say 
ing,  to  the  force  under  my  command.  One 
epithet  only,  tells  the  nature  of  the  battle  ;  it 
was  a  sharp  conflict.  He  puts  under  sail  none 
of  that  squadron  of  adjectives,  after  which,  a 
young  egotist  would  have  sent  his  first  victory 
to  the  Naval  Department.  The  autobiogra 
phy  exemplifies  this  from  the  20th  to  the  23d 
page. 

Perry  not  only  did  not  wish  to  engross  the 
honor  to  himself,  but  he  was  anxious  that  all 
should  share  it  with  him.  At  the  close  of  the 
battle,  every  voice  was  loud  in  praise  of  the 
first  in  command  ;  every  tongue,  but  those  of 
his  own  vessel,  was  questioning,  or  reluct 
antly  restrained  from  questioning,  the  conduct 
of  the  second  in  command.  Those  who  had 
opportunities  to  write,  were,  in  their  letters, 
expressing  their  censure  on  the  position  held 
by  the  Niagara  during  the  battle. 


03  LECTURE. 

The  moment  this  was  known  to  Perry,  he 
sent  Lieutenant  Turner  and  Mr.  Hambleton? 
one  to  the  fleet,  the  other  to  the  camp,  en 
treating-  them  to  stop.  "  Why,"  said  he; 
"should  a  young-  officer  be  ruined?  Why 
should  the  public  eye  look  on  any  part  of  the 
battle  with  disapprobation  ?  Honor  enough 
for  all  has  been  won  ;  and  I  am  desirous  that 
all  my  companions  in  arms  should  share  it 
with  me."  By  this  effort,  every  letter  not 
dispatched  already,  was  stopped.  One  only 
had  been  sent  away,  and  could  not  be  re 
called.  This  act  is  and  ever  will  be  as  hon 
orable  to  Perry's  generosity,  as  the  victory 
was  to  his  courage. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  he  sent  a  second 
despatch  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  "  to 
give  him  some  of  the  particulars  of  the  battle. '? 
Here  he  saved  Elliot,  by  a  benevolent  ambiguity. 
He  says  t£  at  half  past  two,  the  tvind  springing  up. 
Captain  Elliot  was  ENABLED  to  bring  his 
vessel,  the  Niagara,  gallantly  into  close  ac 
tion."  He  was  ENABLED,  he  could  say  ; 
he  could  not  say  he  DID  bring  the  Niagara 
into  close  action.  For  every  man  in  the  fleet 


LECTURE.  .53 

knew  that  this  was  done  by  Perry  himself. 
The  public  might  infer,  that  Elliot,  when  he 
was  enabled  to  bring,  did  in  jact,  bring  the  Ni 
agara  gallantly  into  close  action  ;  and  Elliot 
was  willing  it  should  be  so  left  in  this  ambigu 
ity.  For  though  he  requested  Perry  to  place 
this  enabled,  at  an  earlier  hour,  he  never  re 
quested  him  to  say  that  he  did  do  what  he 
was  enabled  to  do  ;  that  is,  that  he  did  come 
gallantly  into  close  action.  The  time  ichen 
he  was  so  enabled,  was  referred  to  one  of  his 
own  Lieutenants,  Edwards,  and  to  Lieutenant 
Turner  ;  but  they  agreed,  that  one  half  past 
two,  as  the  Commodore  had  stated  it,  was  the 
correct  time.  This  was  the  moment  when  Perry 
left  the  Lawrence  to  board  the  Niagara  ;  and 
this  establishes  the  fact,  that  this  Commodore 
Elliot,  who  now  claims  the  honor  of  the  vic 
tory,  had  not,  at  one  half  after  two  o'clock,  in 
the  afternoon,  been  in  close  action. 

Some  other  admitted  facts,  place  this  ques 
tion  still  further  beyond  doubt.  It  is  admitted 
by  all,  that  Commodore  Perry  left  the  Law 
rence  at  half  past  two  o'clock,  P.  M.  ;  that  he 

hoisted  the  signal,  on  board  the  Niagara,  for 
5 

I 


54  LECTURE. 

close  action,  to  the  gun  boats  astern  of  her, 
at  45,  as  he  says,  and  as  Yarnall  says,  at  48 
minutes  after  two.  He  could  not  have  been 
less  than  ten  minutes  passing  from  the  Law 
rence  to  the  Niagara,  or  more  than  three  in 
hoisting  the  signal.  How  far  could  eight  men 
send  that  light  barge  over  the  water  in  ten 
minutes  ?  Some  oarsmen  tell  me  two  ;  some 
one  and  a  half,  but  none  less  than  one  mile. 
So  far  from  the  Lawrence,  and  a  little  farther, 
half  musket  shot,  from  the  enemy,  was  the 
Niagara  when  Perry  reached  her  deck.  He 
had  left  the  Lawrence  on  her  larboard  or  left 
hand  gangway,  when  she  was  directly  abeam 
of  the  Detroit ;  arid  the  moment  that  the  Law 
rence  dropped  astern,  as  she  did  immediately 
on  his  leaving  her,  and  struck  shortly  after ; 
the  enemy  saw  him  in  his  boat,  and  turned 
their  fire  from  the  ship  to  him. 

It  is  admitted  that  he  rowed  round  under 
the  stern  of  the  Niagara  and  came  up  on  the 
windward,  then  the  larboard,  or  left  hand 
gangway.  The  wind  was  south-east.  Had 
the  Niagara  been  corning  down,  the  wind 
would  have  been  on  her  right  hand,  or  star- 


LECTURE.  55 

board  side  ;  the  wind,  as  it  is  proved  by  Elliot 
himself,  was  on  the  larboard  or  left  hand  side. 

If  then  the  Niagara  was,  as  it  is  admitted, 
abeam  of  the  Detroit  and  Queen  Charlotte, 
though  she  was  enabled  to,  yet  she  had  not 
begun  to  come  gallantly  into  close  action^ 

Another  admitted  fact  will  tell  where  El 
liot  was  when  the  Detroit  and  Queen  Char 
lotte  surrendered.  Wherever  the  Niagara  was, 
when  Perry  reached  her  ;  the  Somers,  the 
Tigress  and  the  Porcupine  were  in  succession 
and  in  a  line  a  long  distance  astern  of  her. 
This  is  proved  by  Elliot's  own  officers.  Elliot, 
to  bring  them  up,  left  the  Niagara  and  rowed 
down  the  whole  length  of  the  line,  or  until 
he  could  hail  the  last  boat ;  and  rowed  back 
and  boarded  the  Somers  ;  and  so  brought  the 
gun  boats  down  to  engage  in  the  action. 
Whatever  distance  these  vessels,  all  dull  sail 
ers,  were  astern  of  the  Niagara,  Elliot  had  to 
row  twice  over  that  distance,  before  he  could 
get  back  to  the  point  where  he  left  Perry  in 
the  Niagara ;  then  in  two  or  three  minutes, 
starting  under  full  sail,  to  run  down  over  the 


56  LECTURE. 

space  which  he  had  rowed  up  in  fifteen  min 
utes.* 

Let  these  facts  tell  their  own  story  ;  and 
they  will  give  the  "whereabouts"  of  Captain 
Elliot,  when  the  action  terminated.  This  was 
in  fifteen  minutes,  as  Elliot  proves,  and  dn 
twenty,  as  Yarriall  states,  after  Perry  board 
ed  the  Niagara. 

The  living  can  protect  their  own  charac 
ters.  Those  who  are  dead,  and  who  fell  in 
the  national  service,  have  left  their  fame,  per 
haps  the  only  inheritance  of  their  children,  to 
the  safe  keeping  of  their  country  ;  and  wo  be 
tide  a  people,  when  they  permit  the  sanctuary 
of  human  glory,  frail  and  perishable  as  it  is, 
to  be  profaned  and  plundered. 

It  was  sacrilege  among  the  ancients,  and 
deemed  abhorrent  to  gods  and  men,  to  destroy, 
or  remove  a  stick  or  a  stone,  from  a  trophy 
erected,  by  a  conqueror,  on  a  battle  field,  or 
by  the  shore  where  a  naval  victory  had  been 
achieved. 

*Sce  Note  B. 


LECTURE.  57 

Let  the  people  of  Rhode-Island  protect  with 
a  pious  diligence,  the  tombs  and  the  glory  of 
their  buried  patriots  and  heroes  ;  and  alike 
abhor  those  who  would  tarnish  the  one,  or 
demolish  the  other. 
6* 


NOTES. 


NOTE  A. 

Although  every  effort  was  made  for  the  relief  of  the 
wounded,  yet  there  was  much  unavoidable  delay  in 
giving  them  needful  attention ;  for  Dr.  Parsons,  now 
one  of  our  most  distinguished  medical  gentlemen,  then 
surgeon  of  the  Lawrence,  was  the  only  surgeon  able 
to  do  duty  in  the  American  squadron.  It  was  not, 
therefore,  until  forty-eight  hours  after  the  battle,  that  he 
could  attend  to  the  wounded  on  board  the  Niagara. 
Of  them,  two  only  told  him,  that  they  were  wounded 
before  Perry  boarded  that  vessel.  He  was  preserved 
in  that  service,  and  for  the  completion  of  it,  by  one  of 
the  wonderful  events  of  that  day.  While  he  was  stoop 
ing  in  the  cock-pit,  diligently  dressing  the  wounded, 
a  shot,  hulling  the  ship  through  and  through,  passed 
just  above  his  head.  Had  he  been  standing  up,  nothing 
could  have  saved  him ;  and  the  wounded  in  the  fleet 


60  CONDITION  AND  POSITION 

would  have  been  left  without  relief,  and  the  country 
sustained  a  loss  of  one  of  her  most  able  and  distin 
guished  men  in  the  healing  profession. 


NOTE  B. 

The  individuals,  and  those  too  in  command  and  so 
most  exposed,  are,  at  times,  wonderfully  preserved  in 
the  midst  of  slaughter  ;  yet  do  the  number  of  dead 
and  wounded,  give  fearful  and  solemn  demonstration 
of  the  toil,  peril,  and  exertions  of  those  who  led, 
cheered  and  urged  them  on  in  the  battle. 

On  board  the  Somers,  the  gun  boat  which  Elliot 
was  bringing  down,  two  men  only  were  wounded, 
whether  before  or  after  his  command,  it  is  unknown ; 
none  were  killed,  OH  board  the  Niagara,  when  he  com 
manded  ;  and  it  is  proved  by  the  surgeon  who  dressed 
them,  that  two  only,  declared  themselves  to  have  been 
wounded  during  that  time. 

The  condition  of  that  vessel  and  her  crew,  when 
Elliot  left  her,  as  I  have  stated  it,  was  communicated 
to  me  by  a  gentleman,  who  received  it  from  Commo 
dore  Perry's  own  mouth.  He  related  the  fact,  that 
he  found  the  ship  perfectly  fresh  and  not  a  man  killed 
on  board,  as  a  matter  of  gratulation  ;  and  one  that 
gave  him  promise  of  a  certain  and  speedy  victory. 


OP  THE  NIAGARA.  61 

Elliot  produced  no  evidence  before  his  court  of  inquiry, 
sufficient  to  induce  a  belief  that  Perry  was  mistaken 
in  this  statement.  Lieutenant  Webster,  when  called 
up  a  second  time,  and  asked  by  Elliot  "  what  damage 
the  Niagara  sustained  during  the  action,  not  while  he 
commanded;  mentioned  sundry  wounds  in  spars  and 
rigging ;  and  concludes  by  saying  two  men  were 
killed  and  several  wounded  in  his  division  before  he 
went  below. 

If  the  answer  be  as  extensive  as  the  question,  and 
cover  the  whole  action,  it  perfectly  corroborates,  but 
does  not  contradict  the  statement  of  Commodore  Perry. 

The  letter  of  Mr.  Barton,  nominal  surgeon  of  the 
Niagara,  written  at  Winchester,  in  Virginia,  on  the 
22d  of  April,  1821,  to  Commodore  Elliot,  and  sworn 
to  on  the  24th  of  that  month,  before  some  justice  of 
the  peace  in  Frederick  county,  Virginia,  can  hardly 
be  regarded  as  evidence. 

This  man  was,  on  the  day  of  the  battle,  and  for  many 
days  after,  so  sick,  that  the  wounded  men  on  board 
the  Niagara  were  not  dressed  by  him ;  nor,  until  the 
third  day,  when  Dr.  Parsons,  acting  as  sole  surgeon, 
took  care  of  those  brave  fellows,  who  had  been  shot  to 
pieces  in  the  Niagara,  after  Perry  took  the  command. 
What  could  Barton,  sick  as  he  was,  and  stationed 
below,  know  of  the  battle  ?  As  a  specimen  of  his 
hearsay  stories,  take  his  declaration,  in  that  letter ; 


62  CONDITION  AND  POSITION 

that  five  were  killed  outright,  on  board  the  Niagara. 
If  he  knew  this  fact,  how  did  it  happen,  that  Captain 
Elliot  returned  to  Commodore  Perry,  the  names  of 
but  two,  Peter  Morel,  seaman,  and  Isaac  Hardy,  ordi 
nary  seaman  ?  These  two  only  were  killed  on  board 
that  vessel ;  and  it  may  be  uncertain,  whether  before 
or  after  Elliot  left  the  ship.  That  two  only  were 
wounded  before  Perry  took  command  is  placed  beyond 
a  doubt  by  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Parsons. 

All  that  Barton  states,  he  had  heard  from  men  on 
board  with  Elliot ;  and  like  himself,  anxious  to  ex- 
cuse  themselves  and  their  commander,  and  to  stand 
well  with  the  public. 

Admit  all  they  claim,  and  two  men  only,  full  where 
Elliot  fought ;  while  onboard  the  Lawrence,  where 
Perry  was  engaged,  twenty-two  were  killed  and  six 
ty-one  wounded.  On  board  the  Niagara,  when  un 
der  Perry's  command,  it  is  fully  believed  two  were 
killed,  and  unquestionably  twenty-two  were  wounded. 

No  ships  can  be  in  close  action  for  two  hours  and  a 
half,  and  remain  so  sound  as  to  be  perfectly  managea 
ble  in  spars,  rigging,  sails,  steerage,  and  battery  ;  and 
perfectly  fit  to  run  down  and*  encounter  the  enemy  at 
any  chosen  distance. 

When  Perry  left  the  Lawrence,  she  was  utterly  un 
manageable,  and  could  not  move  a  sail,  or  fire  a  gun. 
The  Detroit,  which  had  been  engaged  with  her  and 


OF  THE  NIAGARA.  63 

the  Caledonia,  was,  as  Commodore  Barclay  says,  "  a 
perfect  wreck,  and  the  Queen  Charlotte  in  a  condition 
but  little  better." 

What  was  the  condition  of  the  Niagara  when  Elliot 
left  her?  Let  the  service  which  she  immediately  per- 
formed  under  the  command  of  Perry,  give  the  answer. 
She  was  so  perfectly  fresh,  so  entirely  unhurt  in  steer 
age,  spars,  rigging,  sails,  and  battery,  that  without 
stopping  a  moment  to  repair,  he  instantly,  at  45,  or  at 
most,  48  minutes  after  2  o'clock,  made  signal  for  close 
action  to  the  vessels  astern  ;  and  packing  on  all  sail 
bore  down  and  broke  through  the  enemy's  line. 

This  being  the  condition  of  the  Niagara  when  Elliot 
left  her,  why  should  we  call  witnesses  to  prove  that  she 
had  been,  during  the  battle,  out  of  the  reach  of  the  ene 
my's  fire  ?  For  if  every  man  on  board  were  to  swear 
that  she  had  been  yard  arm  and  yard  arm  with  the 
Queen  Charlotte,  for  two  hours  and  a  half,  not  a  man, 
woman,  or  child  on  earth,  would  believe  one  word  of 
the  story. 

No  ;  the  Niagara  was  perfectly  fresh,  and  hanging 
in  the  wind,  at  a  safe  distance,  when  Perry  boarded 
her,  at  45  minutes  after  2  o'clock.  With  such  a  ves 
sel,  with  none  killed  and  but  two  wounded,  he  was  able 
to  make  sail,  bear  gallantly  down,  break  through  the 
enemy's  line,  and  in  fifteen  minutes  after  he  came  on 
board,  as  Elliot's  witnesses  testify,  or  in  twenty,  or 


64  CONDITION  AND  POSITION 

twenty-five,  as  Yarnall  states,  to  terminate  the  action 
by  a  signal  and  glorious  victory. 


NOTE  C. 

Lieutenant  Webster  called  and  examined  under  oath 
by  Commodore  Elliot,  testifies,  that  when  he  went  be 
low,  the  gun  boats  were  a  long  way  astern  of  the  Ni 
agara.  No  evidence  is  brought  to  prove,  and  there  is 
no  reason  to  believe,  that  they  were  nearer  when  El 
liot  left  the  Niagara,  after  Perry  came  on  board. 

Indeed,  if  these  vessels  had  been  near,  or  the  near 
est  within  hailing  distance,  and  the  others  no  further 
off  in  succession  down  the  line,  the  call  to  close  up, 
would  have  been  sent  by  sound  of  trumpet.  The  fact 
of  Elliot's  going  after  them,  proves  that  they  could  not 
be  expedited,  in  their  approach,  by  signal  or  trumpet. 

They  were  astern  of  the  Niagara,  and  in  the  same 
line  with  her ;  so  that  Elliot,  when  he  had  rowed  to 
the  most  distant,  and  then  back  to  the  Somers,  was  no 
nearer  the  enemy  than  the  Niagara  was,  when  he  left 
her. 

How  long  was  Elliot  in  rowing  twice  over  this  dis 
tance  ?  If  it  were  but  one  half  as  far  as  the  Lawrence 
was  from  the  Niagara,  when  Perry  boarded  that  ves 
sel,  Elliot  must  have  been  fifteen  minutes  in  those  two 
movements.  Where  was  Perry,  in  the  Niagara,  dur 
ing  that  time  ?  Let  it  be  told  by  Midshipman  Mont- 


OF  THE   SOMERS.  65 

gomery,  one  of  Elliot's  own  witnesses.  He  says,  "  the 
Detroit  struck  in  fifteen  minutes  after  Perry  came  on 
board  the  Niagara ;  and  the  Queen  Charlotte  a  few 
minutes  after." 

If  this  be  correct,  Elliot  had  that  instant  reached 
the  Somers.  He  proves,  that  when  he  reached  that 
vessel,  both  her  long  32's  were  shotted  with  balls  of 
that  weight.  These  he  ordered  drawn,  and  the  guns 
shotted  with  grape  and  canister.  Was  this  done  to 
save  the  32  Ib.  balls,  as  the  24  Ib.  carronade  balls  had 
been  saved,  because  they  were  too  distant  to  reach  the 
enemy  ?  Or,  was  it  the  fact,  that  he  then  saw  the 
colors  of  these  two  ships  were  down  ;  and  that  while 
he  was  pressing  up,  with  sweeps  and  sails,  into  the 
thickest  of  the  fight,  after  it  was  all  over,  it  was  well  to 
have  the  rest  of  his  men  busy  in  unloading  and  loading 
the  guns  ? 

Had  the  Somers  been  within  point  blank  shot  when 
he  boarded  her,  the  quickest  way  to  have  cleared  his 
guns,  for  a  load  of  grape  and  canister,  would  have 
been  to  place  the  32  Ib.  shot,  which  then  incumbered 
them,  between  wind  and  water  in  the  enemy's  broad- 
side.  Two  such  balls,  directed  by  a  skilful  eye  over 
that  smooth  water,  might  have  finished  the  conflict,  if 
the  conflict  had  not  already  been  finished. 

In  a  late  publication,  purporting  to  be  a  Naval  His 
tory,  it  is  stated  that  the  boat  service  performed  by 
6 


66  ELLIOT'S  BOAT  SERVICE. 

Elliot  in  the  battle,  was  as  perilous  as  that  performed 
by  Perry.  Is  this  correct  ?  The  Lawrence  was  with 
in  half  musket  shot  of  the  enemy  when  Perry  left  her, 
and  the  Niagara  was  out  of  carronade  shot  when  he 
reached  her.  The  whole  fire  of  the  enemy  was  poured 
in  upon  him  during  his  whole  passage  from  one  to  the 
other  vessel. 

Elliot,  when  he  left  the  Niagara  to  bring  up  the  ves 
sels  astern,  was  out  of  sight  of  the  Detroit  and  Queen 
Charlotte  ;  and  from  that  time  until  he  returned  to  the 
Somers  and  boarded  her,  was  out  of  reach  of  all  their 
guns,  and  does  not  appear  to  have  been  noticed  by 
them.  The  writer,  who  could  compare  these  two  ser 
vices  together,  and  pronounce  them  equally  perilous, 
must  have  a  strange  obliquity  of  purpose,  or  of  under 
standing. 

NOTE  D. 

It  is  in  proof  and  is  admitted  to  be  true,  that  Com 
modore  Perry  rowed  round  the  stern  of  the  Niagara 
and  came  upon  the  larboard  side.  It  is  then  true  that 
this  vessel  was  not  bearing  down  on  the  enemy,  for  had 
that  been  the  case,  the  boat's  crew  being  equally  ex 
posed  to  the  enemy's  shot  on  either  side  of  the  vessel, 
she  would  have  been  boarded,  on  the  starboard,  that 
being  the  side  first  reached  by  the  boat. 

It  is  also  admitted  that  the  Commodore  boarded  on 


POSITION  OF  THE  NIAGARA.  67 

the  windward  side  of  the  Niagara ;  the  wind  must  then 
have  been  on  the  larboard  side,  for  on  that  side  he 
boarded.  The  wind  was  southeast,  and  this  vessel 
must  have  been  heading  to  the  westward  or  the  wind 
could  not  have  been  on  her  larboard  quarter.  She 
was  abeam  of  the  Detroit,  and  had  she  been  running 
down  on  that  ship  her  course  must  have  been  north, 
and  the  wind,  at  southeast,  would  have  been  on  her 
starboard  quarter.  It  cannot,  then,  be  true  that  she 
had  begun  to  run  down  to  the  enemy's  line  when 
Commodore  Perry  boarded  her.  It  is  admitted  that 
the  Somers,  Tigress  and  Porcupine,  were  astern  of  the 
Niagara  when  boarded  by  the  Commodore  ;  but  it  is 
also  admitted  that  these  vessels  were  all  heading  to  the 
westward  with  the  southeast  wind  on  their  larboard 
quarters.  The  Niagara  must  therefore  have  been 
heading  the  same  course  ;  or  the  other  vessels  could 
not  have  been  astern  of  her ;  for  had  she  at  that  time 
been  running  down  on  the  enemy  they  would  have 
been  on  her  beam  as  they  were  a  few  minutes  after, 
when  Perry  packed  on  all  sail  and  put  up  his  helm  to 
rush  down  and  break  through  the  enemy's  line. 

At  the  court  of  inquiry,  requested  by  Captain  Elliot, 
most  of  his  officers,  called  by  him  as  witnesses,  testify 
that  the  Niagara  was  in  close  action  during  the  whole 
battle.  Nevertheless,  Captain  Elliot  asks  of  several 
of  them  this  question, "  When  Captain  Perry  boarded  the 


68  POSITION  OF  THE  NIAGARA. 

Niagara,  was  not  my  helm  put  up  and  the  vessel  bear 
ing  down  on  the  enemy  ?"  This  question  contradicts 
all  these  witnesses,  and  admits  that  when  Captain  Perry 
boarded  the  Niagara,  at  45  minutes  past  two  o'clock  t 
she  was  not  in  close  action  ;  and  all  the  witnesses  who 
say  "  yes"  to  this  question  contradict  what  they  had 
said  before,  viz.,  that  the  Niagara  was  in  close  action 
when  boarded  by  the  Commodore,  while  all  the  forego 
ing  admitted  facts,  viz.  the  southeast  wind  on  the  larboard 
quarter,  the  other  vessels  astern,  the  rowing  round 
the  stern  and  boarding  of  the  Commodore  on  the  lar 
board  side  of  the  Niagara,  prove  beyond  question,  that 
the  helm  was  not  put  up  and  that  she  had  not  then 
begun  to  run  down  on  the  enemy,  when  boarded  by 
Captain  Perry. 


APPENDIX 


DIAGRAM,  NO.  1. 


' 


' 


1^} 

00 


DIAGRAMS.  71 


EXPLANATION  OF  DIAGRAM,  NO.  1. 

This  Diagram  represents  the  position  of  the  two 
fleets  at  the  commencement  of  the  action.  The  arrow 
indicates  the  course  of  the  wind,  which  was  from  the 
southeast.  The  fleets  were  headed  westward. 

AMERICAN    SQUADRON. 

1.  The  schooner  Scorpion,  Sailing  Master  Champlin, 

of  two  guns,  32  pounders. 

2.  The  schr.  Ariel,  Lieut. Packett,  4  guns,18's  and  24's. 

3.  The  Lawrence,  Captain  Perry,  with  twenty  guns, 

two  long  12s  and  eighteen  24s. 

4.  The  Caledonia,  Lieutenant  Turner,  with  three  guns, 

24  and  32  pounders. 

5.  The  Niagara,  Captain  Elliott,  with  the  same  arma- 

ment  as  the  Lawrence. 

6.  The  schooner  Somers,  Sailing- Master  Almy,  with 

two  32  pounders. 

7.  The  schooner  Porcupine,  Midshipman  Smith,  with 

one  32  pounder. 

8.  The  Tigress,  Lieut.  Conklin,  with  one  32  pound  gun. 

9.  The  sloop  Trippe,   Lieutenant   Stevens,  with  one 

32  pound  gun. 

BRITISH    SQUADRON. 

a.  Sloop  Little  Belt,  of  three  guns. 

b.  The  ship  Detroit,  with  nineteen  guns. 

c.  The  brig  Hunter,  with  ten  guns. 

d.  The  ship  Queen  Charlotte,  with  seventeen  guns. 

e.  The  schooner  Lady  Prevost,  with  thirteen  guns. 
/.  The  schr.  Chippewa,  with  one  gun  and  two  swivels. 


72  DIAGRAMS. 

EXPLANATION  OF  DIAGRAM,  NO.  2. 
This  Diagram  represents  the  position  of  each  ship 

at  the  moment  when  Perry  left  the  Lawrence,  in  his 

boat,  for  the  Niagara. 

1  and  2,  are  the  Scorpion  of  two  guns,  and  Ariel  of 
four  guns,  contending  with  the  Little  Belt  of  three 
guns  and  the  Hunter  of  ten  guns.  The  Hunter, 
early  in  the  action,  had  left  her  position  in  the 
line,  between  the  Detroit  and  Queen  Charlotte,  and 
pressed  forward  to  the  support  of  the  Little  Belt. 

3.  The  position  of  the  Lawrence  at  the  moment  when 

Perry  left  her,  in  her  disabled  state,  for  the  Niag 
ara.  The  former  lay  an  unmanageable  wreck, 
and  as  the  fleet  moved  slowly  forward,  during 
the  action  under  easy  sail,  she  dropped  to  wind 
ward,  and  at  the  close  of  the  engagement,  was 
in  the  position  in  which  she  is  represented  in  Dia 
gram  No.  3. 

4.  The  Caledonia  of  four  "guns,  which  had  pressed  for 

ward  to  the  aid  of  the  Lawrence,  in  her  unequal 
contest  with  the  Detroit  and  Queen  Charlotte. 

5.  The  Niagara  at  the  moment  when  Perry  left  the 

Lawrence  to  board  her.  The  dotted  line  from  6 
to  5,  will  show  the  course  of  her  steerage  from 
the  time  she  left  her  place  in  the  line,  till  the  com 
mand  of  her  was  assumed  by  Perry.  The  dotted 
line  from  her  bow,  through  the  line  of  the  British 
fleet,  will  show,  her  course  after  Elliot  left  her. 

6.  The  Somers,  of  which  Captain  Elliot  took  the  com- 


x, 


DIAGRAM,  NO.  2. 


o 


**£Si 


jN»  --WB 

'Yx 

/  ',  '•••-....  -°" 


DIAGRAMS.  75 

mand  toward  the  close  of  the  action,  after  leaving 
the  Niagara  and  rowing  down  to  the  Trippe. 

7,  8  and  9.  The  Porcupine,  Tigress  and  Trippe. 

The  dotted  line  from  5  to  9  and  from  9  to  6,  repre 
sents  the  route  of  Captain  Elliot  in  his  boat,  after 
he  left  the  Niagara  to  go  down  the  line  and 
bring  up  the  small  vessels  to  the  windward. 
He  passed  down  the  line  to  the  Trippe,  thence 

{along  the  line  of  schooners  to  the  Somers,  of  which 
he  took  the  command  and  brought  her  into  action 
at  near  the  close  of  the  battle. 
The  dotted  line  from  3  to  5,  exhibits  the  direction  of 

(Captain  Perry's  boat  in  passing  from  the  Law 
rence  to  the  Niagara.  As  the  Lawrence  fell  to 
the  rear  immediately  after  he  left  her,  his  boat 
was  exposed  to  the  full  broadside  of  the  enemy. 
The  other  dotted  line  will  exhibit  the  course  of  the  Ni- 
agara  while  under  the  command  of  Elliot,  and  af 
terwards  under  that  of  Perry,  as  explained  above. 

BRITISH  FLEET. 

a.  The  Little  Belt. 
I.  The  Detroit. 

c.  The  Hunter,  which  had  left  her  place  in  line,  astern 

of  the  Detroit,  and  took  station  in  advance  of  her. 

d.  The  Queen  Charlotte,  which  had   passed  forward 

and  united  her  force  with  the  Detroit,  for  the  de 
struction  of  the  Lawrence,  after  she  discovered 
the  Niagara  had  avoided  an  encounter  with  her. 

e.  The  Lady  Prevost,  which   had  been  injured  in  her 

rudder  and  fallen  out  of  the  line. 

f.  The  Chippewa. 


76  DIAGRAMS. 

EXPLANATION  OF  DIAGRAM,  NO.  3. 

This  Diagram  represents  the  position  of  the  vessels 
of  both  fleets  at  near  the  close  of  the  action,  while 
Perry?  in  the  Niagara,  was  pressing  through  the  ene 
my's  line,  pouring  one  broadside  into  the  Hunter,  on 
his  larboard  side,  and  the  other  into  the  Detroit  and 
Queen  Charlotte,  from  the  starboard  guns. 

AMERICAN    FLEET. 

1  and  2.  The  Scorpion  and   Ariel,   in   the   positions 
which  they  had  maintained  throughout  the  action. 

3.  The  Lawrence  which  had  dropped  to  the  windward, 

after  Perry  left  her. 

4.  The  Caledonia  which   had  pressed    forward   and 

taken  the  place  of  the  Lawrence,  after  the  latter 
had  fallen  out  of  the  battle. 

5.  The  Niagara,  under  the  command  of  Perry,  bearing 

down  through  the  enemy's  line,  and  in  this  posi 
tion,  with  all  her  guns  double  shotted,  she  raked 
the  Detroit,  Queen  Charlotte  and  Lady  Prevost 
with  her  starboard  guns,  and  brought  down  the 
flags  of  the  two  ships  ;  and  with  her  larboard  guns 
silenced  the  Hunter.  She  then  rounded  to,  and 
silenced  the  Lady  Prevost,  and  thus  terminated 
the  conflict. 

6.  The  Somers,  under   the  command  of  Elliot,  press- 

ing  up  to  close  quarters,  at  near  the  termination 
of  the  action. 

7  and  8.  The  Porcupine  and  Tigress,  which  were  un 
able  to  get  into  action. 


DIAGRAMS. 


77 


DIAGRAM,  NO.  3. 


^°gr"' 


2v 


UlH'i-t 

g£i-i 


tH^/vrc;s 
\  ('^ 


s 


s 


SOX. 


DIAGRAMS. 


79 


9.  The  Trippe,  which  had  gallantly  pushed  forward 
with  her  single  32  pounder,  to  the  support  of  the 
Caledonia,  after  the  latter  had  taken  the  place  of 
the  Lawrence. 

The  dotted  line  indicates  the  course  of  the  Niagara, 
under  the  command  of  Perry.  The  wind  re- 
mained  in  the  same  quarter  as  at  the  commemce- 
ment  of  the  action. 

BRITISH  FLEET. 

a.  The  Little  Belt,  which,  after  the  Hunter  had  struck, 

attempted  to   escape,   but  was  pursued  and  taken 
by  the  Scorpion,  Lieutenant  Champlin. 

b.  The  Detroit  attempting  to   wear,  to  avoid  the  Nia 

gara's  raking  broadside,   and   by  that  movement 
became  entangled  with  the  Queen  Charlotte. 

c.  The  Hunter,  which  surrendered  after  receiving  the 

raking  fire  of  the  Niagara,  as  she  passed  her. 

d.  The  Queen  Charlotte  afoul  of  the  Detroit.     In  this 

situation  both  ships  surrendered. 
/.  The  Chippewa,  which  after  the  surrender  of  the  oth 
er  vessels,  crowded  all  sail  and  fled,  but  was  pur- 
sued  and  captured. 


80  PERRY'S  OFFICIAL  ACCOUNT. 


AMERICAN  OFFICIAL  ACCOUNT. 
Copy  of  a  letter  from  Commodore  Perry  to  the  Sec 
retary  of  the  Navy. 

United  States  schooner  Ariel,  Put-in-Bay,  ) 
13th  September,  1813.  5 

SIR — In  my  last  I  informed  you,  that  we  had  captured 
the  enemy's  fleet  on  this  lake.  I  have  now  the  honor 
to  give  you  the  most  important  particulars  of  the  ac 
tion.  On  the  morning  of  the  10th  inst.  at  sunrise,  they 
were  discovered  from  Put-in-Bay,  where  I  lay  at  anchor 
with  the  squadron  under  my  command.  We  got  under 
way,  the  wind  light  at  S.  W.  and  stood  for  them.  At 
10  A.  M.  the  wind  hauled  to  S.  E.  and  brought  us  to 
windward  ;  formed  the  line  and  brought  up.  At  15 
minutes  before  12,  the  enemy  commenced  firing ;  at 
5  minntes  before  12,  the  action  commenced  on  our 
part.  Finding  their  fire  very  destructive,  owing  to 
their  long  guns,  and  its  being  mostly  directed  to  the 
Lawrence,  I  made  sail,  and  directed  the  other  vessels 
to  follow,  for  the  purpose  of  closing  with  the  enemy. 
Every  brace  and  bow  line  being  shot  away,  she  be 
came  unmanageable,  notwithstanding  the  great  exer 
tions  of  the  Sailing  Master.  In  this  situation  she  sus 
tained  the  action  upwards  of  two  hours,  within  canister 
shot  distance,  until  every  gun  was  rendered  useless, 
and  a  greater  part  of  the  crew  either  killed  or  wounded. 
Finding  she  could  no  longer  annoy  the  enemy,  I  left 
her  in  charge  of  Lt.  Yarnall,  who,  I  was  convinced, 
from  the  bravery  already  displayed  by  him,  would  do 


KERRY'S  OFFICIAL  ACCOUNT.  81 

what  would  comport  with  the  honor  of  the  flag.  At 
half  past  2,  the  wind  springing  up,  Captain  Elliot  ivas 
enabled  to  bring  Ms  vessel,  the  Niagara,  gallantly  into 
close  action  ;  I  immediately  went  on  board  of  her, 
when  he  anticipated  my  wish  by  volunteering  to  bring 
the  schooners,  which  had  been  kept  astern  by  the  light 
ness  of  the  wind,  into  close  action.  It  was  with  un 
speakable  pain  that  I  saw,  soon  after  I  got  on  board 
the  Niagara,  the  flag  of  the  Lawrence  come  down,  al 
though  I  was  perfectly  sensible  that  she  had  been  de 
fended  to  the  last,  and  that  to  have  continued  to  make 
a  show  of  resistance  would  have  been  a  wanton  sacri 
fice  of  the  remains  of  her  brave  crew.  But  the  enemy 
was  not  able  to  take  possession  of  her,  and  circum 
stances  soon  permitted  her  flag  again  to  be  hoisted. 
At  45  minutes  past  two,  the  signal  was  made  for  "  close 
action."  The  Niagara  being  very  -little  injured,  I  de 
termined  to  pass  through  the  enemy's  line,  bore  up  and 
passed  ahead  of  their  two  ships  and  a  brig,  giving  a 
raking  fire  to  them  from  the  starboard  guns,  and  to  a 
large  schooner  and  sloop,  from  the  larboard  side,  at  half 
pistol  shot  distance.  The  smaller  vessels  at  this  time 
having  got  within  grape  and  canister  distance,  under 
the  direction  of  Captain  Elliot,  and  keeping  up  a  well 
directed  fire,  the  two  ships,  a  brig,  and  a  schooner,  sur 
rendered,  a  schooner  and  sloop  making  a  vain  attempt 
to  escape. 

Those  officers  and  men  who  were  immediately  under 
my  observation  evinced  the  greatest  gallantry,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  that  all  others  conducted  themselves  as 
became  American  officers  and  seamen.  Lieutenant 


82  PERRY'S  OFFICIAL  ACCOUNT. 

Yarnall,  first  of  the  Lawrence,  although  several  times 
wounded,  refused  to  quit  the  deck.  Midshipman  For 
rest,  (doing  duty  as  Lieutenant,)  and  Sailing-Master 
Taylor,  were  of  great  assistance  to  me.  I  have  great 
pain  in  stating  to  you  the  death  of  Lieutenant  Brooks, 
of  the  marines,  and  Midshipman  Laub,  both  of  the 
Lawrence,  and  Midshipman  John  Clark,  of  the  Scor 
pion  ;  they  were  valuable  officers.  Mr.  Hambleton, 
Purser,  who  volunteered  his  services  on  deck,  was  se- 
verely  wounded  late  in  the  action.  Midshipman  Cl ax- 
ton  and  Swartwout,  of  the  Lawrence,  were  severely 
wounded.  On  board  the  Niagara,  Lieutenants  Smith 
and  Edwards,  and  Midshipman  Webster,  (doing  duty 
as  Sailing-Master,)  behaved  in.  a  very  handsome  man 
ner.  Captain  Brevoort,  of  the  army,  who  acted  as  a 
volunteer  in  the  capacity  of  a  marine  officer  on  board 
that  vessel,  is  an  excellent  and  brave  officer,  and  with 
his  musketry,  did  great  execution:  Lieutenant  Turner, 
commanding  the  Caledonia,  brought  that  vessel  into 
action  in  the  most  able  manner,  and  is  an  officer,  that 
in  all  situations  may  be  relied  upon.  The  Ariel,  Lieu 
tenant  Packett,  and  Scorpion,  Sailing-Master  Champlin, 
were  enabled  to  get  early  into  the  action,  and  were  of 
great  service.  Captain  Elliot  speaks  in  the  highest 
terms  of  Mr.  Magrath,  Purser,  who  had  been  de 
spatched  in  a  boat  on  service,  previous  to  my  getting 
on  board  the  Niagara ;  and,  being  a  seaman,  since 
the  action  has  rendered  essential  service  in  taking 
charge  of  one  of  the  prizes.  Of  Captain  Elliot,  already 
so  well  known  to  the  government,  it  would  be  almost 
superfluous  to  speak.  In  this  action  he  evinced  his 


LOG-BOOK  OF  THE  LAWRENCE.  83 

characteristic  bravery  and  judgment,  and  since  the 
close  of  the  action,  has  given  me  the  most  able  and 
essential  assistance. 

I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  you  a  return  of  the 
killed  and  wounded,  together  with  a  statement  of  the 
relative  force  of  the  squadrons.  The  Captain  and 
first  Lieutenant  of  the  Queen  Charlotte,  and  first 
Lieutenant  of  the  Detroit,  were  killed.  Captain  Bar- 
clay,  senior  officer,  and  the  commander  of  the  Lady 
Prevost,  severely  wounded.  Their  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded,  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  ascertain  ;  it 
must,  however,  have  been  very  great. 

Very  respectfully,  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

O.  H.  PERRY. 

The  Hon.  WM.  JONES, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

EXTRACT    FROM  THE  LOG-BOOK  OF    THE  LAWRENCE. 

The  following  document,  which  has  not  before  been 
presented  to  the  public,  is  an  important  piece  of  testi 
mony  in  the  proof  that  the  Niagara  was  kept  out  of  the 
action  till  boarded  by  Perry.  It  is  an  attested  copy  of 
the  log-book  of  the  Lawrence,  for  the  10th  of  Septem- 
ber,  1813.  The  record  was  made  within  twenty-four 
hours  after  the  action — and  before  the  unwarranted 
pretensions  of  Elliot  were  dreamed  of— by  the  Sailing 
Master,  Taylor,  whose  official  duty  it  was  to  keep  a 
register  of  the  important  events  of  the  day,  for  preser 
vation.  The  log  contained  only  what  were  well  known 


84  LOG-BOOK   OF  THE  LAWRENCE. 

and  admitted  facts  at  the  time  on  board  the  ship  ;  it 
was  the  public  record  of  the  ship,  open  to  the  view  of 
all,  and  undisputed  by  any  one. 

The  log-book  disappeared  soon  after  Perry  left  the 
fleet  and  the  command  of  it  was  assumed  by  Elliot, 
and  has  not  since  been  recovered.  The  following 
transcript  of  it  was  made  by  an  officer  of  the  Lawrence 
into  his  own  private  diary,  on  the  day  after  the  battle. 
and  it  is  from  that  source  that  we  have  derived  it. 

"  Put-in-Bay,  at  5  o'clock,  A.  M.  discovered  the 
enemy's  squadron  bearing  N.  W.,  wind  S.  W.  ;  at 
7  could  see  all  the  vessels,  two  ships,  two  brigs,  one* 
schooner  and  one  sloop.  At  10,  called  all  hands  to 
quarters.  At  a  quarter  before  meridian  the  enemy 
commenced  the  action  at  one  mile  distant.  In  half  an 
hour  we  came  within  musket  shot  of  the  enemy's  new 
ship  Detroit.  At  this  time  they  opened  a  most  destruc 
tive  fire  on  the  Lawrence  from  the  whole  squadron.  At 
half  past  one,  so  entirely  disabled  we  could  work  the 
brig  no  longer.  At  two  P.  M.  most  of  the  guns  were 
dismounted,  breechings  gone,  and  carriages  knocked 
to  pieces.  Capt.  Perry  hauled  down  the  fighting  flag, 
which  bore  this  motto, "  Do  n't  give  up  the  ship,"  and  re- 
paired  on  board  of  the  Niagara,  and  then  raised  it  again. 
In  ten  minutes  after,  we  struck  to  the  enemy.  Capt. 
Perry  made  all  sail  with  the  Niagara,  which  hitherto 
had  kept  out  of  the  action,  and  in  fifteen  minutes  passed 
in  among  the  British  squadron,  having  the  Detroit, 
Queen  Charlotte  and  Lady  Prevost  on  the  starboard 

*One  of  the  brigs  was  an  hermaphrodite,  and  sometimes 
was  called  a  schooner. 


BRITISH  OFFICIAL  ACCOUNT.  85 

i 

side,  and  the  Hunter  on  the  larboard  side,  and  silenced 

them  all  ;  and  ten  minutes  before  three,  they  hauled 
down  their  colors.  Two  small  vessels  attempted  to 
escape  but  being  overhauled,  struck  a  few  minutes 
after  three."  Then  follows  a  list  of  the  killed  and 
wounded  on  board  the  Lawrence. 


BRITISH  OFFICIAL  ACCOUNT. 
Letter  of  Captain  Barclay. 

His  Majesty's  late  ship  Detroit,  Put-in-Bay,  ) 


Lake  Erie,  September  12th. 
SIR — The  last  letter  1  had  the  honor  of  writing  to 
you,  dated  the  6th  instant,  informed  you,  that  unless 
certain  intimation  was  received  of  more  seamen  being 
on  their  way  to  Amherstburg,  I  should  be  obliged  to 
.sail  with  the  squadron,  deplorably  manned  as  it  was, 
to  fight  the  enemy  (who  blockaded  the  port,)  to  ena 
ble  us  to  get  supplies  of  provisions  and  stores  of  every 
description  ;  so  perfectly  destitute  of  provisions  was 
the  port,  that  there  was  not  a  day's  flour  in  store,  and 
the  crews  of  the  squadron  under  my  command  were 
on  half  allowance  of  many  things,  and  when  that  was 
done,  there  was  no  more.  Such  were  the  motives 
which  induced  Major-General  Proctor  (whom  by  your 
instructions  I  was  directed  to  consult,  and  whose  wishes 
I  was  enjoined  to  execute,  as  far  as  related  to  the 
good  of  the  country)  to  concur  in  the  necessity  of  a 
battle  being  risked,  under  the  many  disadvantages 
which  I  labored,  and  it  now  remains  for  me,  the  most 
melancholy  task,  to  relate  to  you  the  unfortunate  issue 


86  BRITISH  OFFICIAL  ACCOUNT. 

of  that  battle,  as  well  as  the  many  untoward  circum 
stances  that  led  to  that  event.  No  intelligence  of 
seamen  having  arrived,  I  sailed  on  the  9th  instant, 
fully  expecting  to  meet  the  enemy  next  morning,  as 
they  had  been  seen  among  the  islands  ;  nor  was  I 
mistaken.  Soon  after  day  light  they  were  seen  in 
motion  in  Put-in-Bay,  the  wind  then  at  south-west  and 
light,  giving  us  the  weather  gage,  1  bore  up  with  them, 
in  hopes  of  bringing  them  to  action  among  the  islands, 
but  that  intention  was  soon  frustrated,  by  the  wind 
suddenly  shifting  to  the  south-east,  which  brought  the 
enemy  directly  to  windward.  The  line  was  formed 
according  to  a  given  plan,  so  that  each  ship  might  be 
supported  against  the  superior  force  of  the  two  brigs 
opposed  to  them.  About  ten,  the  enemy  had  cleared 
the  islands  and  immediately  bore  up,  unrlrr  easy  sail, 
in  a  line  abreast,  each  brig  being  also  sir.  ported  by  the 
small  vessels.  At  a  quarter  before  12,  I  commenced 
the  action  by  a  few  long  guns  ;  about  a  quarter  past, 
the  American  Commodore,  also  supported  by  two 
schooners,  one  carrying  four  long  12  pounders,  the 
other  a  long  32  and  24  pounder,  carne  close  to  action 
with  the  Detroit ;  the  other  brig  of  the  enemy,  appa 
rently  destined  to  engage  the  Queen  Charlotte,  sup 
ported  in  like  manner  by  two  schooners,  kept  so  far 
to  windward  as  to  render  the  Queen  Charlotte's  20 
pounder  carronades  useless,  while  she  was,  with  the 
Lady  Prevost,  exposed  to  the  heavy  and  destructive 
fire  of  the  Caledonia,  and  four  other  schooners,  armed 
with  heavy  and  long  guns,  like  those  I  have  already 
described.  Too  soon,  alas !  was  I  deprived  of  the 


BRITISH  OFFICIAL  ACCOUNT.  87 

services  of  the  noble  and  intrepid  Captain  Finnis,  who 
soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  action  fell,  and 
with  him  fell  my  greatest  support ;  soon  after,  Lieu 
tenant  Stokes,  of  the  Queen  Charlotte,  was  struck 
senseless  by  a  splinter,  which  deprived  the  country  of 
his  services  at  this  very  critical  period.  As  I  per 
ceived  the  Detroit  had  enough  to  contend  with,  without 
the  prospect  of  a  fresh  brig,  provincial  Lieutenant  Ir 
vine,  who  then  had  charge  of  the  Queen  Charlotte,  be 
haved  with  great  courage,  but  his  experience  was  much 
too  limited  to  supply  the  place  of  such  an  officer  as 
Captain  Finnis,  hence  she  proved  of  far  less  assistance 
than  I  expected. 

The  action  continued  with  great  fury  until  half  past 
two,  when  I  perceived  my  opponent  drop  astern,  and 
a  boat  passing  from  him  to  the  Niagara,  (which  vessel 
was  at  this  time  perfectly  fresh,)  the  American  Commo 
dore  seeing,  that  as  yet  the  day  was  against  him  (his 
vessel  having  struck  soon  after  he  left  her)  and  also 
the  very  .defenceless  state  of  the  Detroit,  which  ship 
was  now  a  perfect  wreck,  principally  from  the  raking 
fire  of  the  gun  boats,  and  also  that  the  Queen  Charlotte 
was  in  such  a  situation,  that  I  could  receive  very  little 
assistance  from  her,  and  the  Lady  Prevost  being  at 
this  time  too  far  to  leeward,  from  her  rudder  being  in 
jured,  made  a  noble,  and  alas  !  too  successful  an  effort 
to  regain  it,  for  he  bore  up,  and  supported  by  his  small 
vessels,  passed  within  pistol  shot,  and  took  a  raking 
position  on  our  bow,  nor  could  I  prevent  it,  as  the  un 
fortunate  situation  of  the  Queen  Charlotte  prevented 
us  from  wearing ;  in  attempting  it  we  fell  on  board  her; 


00  BRITISH  OFFICIAL  ACCOUNT. 

my  gallant  first  Lieutenant,  Garland,  was  now  mortally 
wounded,  and  myself  so  severely  that  I  was  obliged  to 
quit  the  deck.  Manned  as  the  squadron  was,  with  not 
more  than  50  British  seamen,  the  rest  a  mixed  crew 
of  Canadians  and  soldiers,  and  who  were  totally  unac 
quainted  with  such  a  service,  rendered  the  loss  of  offi 
cers  more  sensibly  felt,  and  never  in  any  action  was 
the  loss  more  severe,  every  officer  commanding  vessels, 
and  their  seconds,  was  either  killed  or  wounded  so  se 
verely,  as  to  be  unable  to  keep  the  deck.  Lieutenant 
Buchan,  in  the  Lady  Prevost,  behaved  most  nobly,  and 
did  every  thing  that  a  brave  and  experienced  officer 
could  do  in  a  vessel  armed  with  12  pound  carronades, 
against  vessels  carrying  long  guns.  I  regret  to  state 
that  he  was  severely  wounded.  Lieutenant  Bignal,  of 
the  Dover,  commanding  the  Hunter,  displayed  the 
greatest  intrepidity ;  but  his  guns  being  small  (two 
four  and  six  pounders)  he  could  be  of  much  less  service 
than  he  wished.  Every  officer  in  the  Detroit  behaved 
in  the  most  exemplary  manner.  Lieutenant  Inglis 
showed  such  calm  intrepidity,  that  I  was  fully  con 
vinced  that,  on  leaving  the  deck,  I  left  the  ship  in  ex- 
cellent  hands  ;  and  for  an  account  of  the  battle  after 
that,  I  refer  you  to  his  letter,  which  he  wrote  me  for 
your  information. — Mr.  Hoffmeinster,  purser  of  the 
Detroit,  nobly  volunteered  his  services  on  the  deck, 
and  behaved  in  a  manner  that  reflects  the  highest  hon 
or  on  him.  I  regret  to  add  that  he  is  very  severely 
wounded  in  the  knee.  Provincial  Lieutenant  Purvin, 
and  the  military  officers,  Lieutenants  Garden,  of  the 
Royal  Newfoundland  Rangers,  and  O'Keefe  of  the 


BRITISH  OFFICIAL  ACCOUNT.  89 

41st  regiment,  behaved  in  a  manner  which  excited  my 
warmest  admiration ;  the  few  British  seamen  I  had, 
behaved  with  their  usual  intrepidity,  and  as  long  as  I 
was  on  deck,  the  troops  behaved  with  a  calmness  and 
courage  worthy  of  a  more  fortunate  issue  to  their  ex 
ertions. 

The  weathergage  gave  the  enemy  a  prodigious  ad 
vantage,  as  it  enabled  them  not  only  to  choose  their 
position,  but  their  distance  also,  which  they  did  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  prevent  the  carronades  of  the  Queen 
Charlotte  and  Lady  Prevost,  from  having  much  effect  ; 
while  their  long  guns  did  great  execution,  particularly 
against  the  Queen  Charlotte.  Captain  Perry  has  be 
haved  in  a  most  humane  and  attentive  manner,  not  only 
to  myself  and  officers,  but  to  all  the  wounded.  I  trust 
that,  although  unsuccessful,  you  will  approve  of  the 
motives  that  induced  me  to  sail  under  so  many  disad 
vantages,  and  that  it  may  be  hereafter  proved,  that 
under  such  circumstances  the  honor  of  His  Majesty's 
flag  has  not  been  tarnished.  I  enclose  the  list  of  killed 
and  wounded. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 

(Signed)  R.  H.  BARCLAY. 

Commander  and  late  Senior  Officer. 

His  Majesty's  late  ship  Detroit,  September  10. 

SIR — 'I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  you  an  account 
of  the  termination  of  the  late  unfortunate  battle  with 
the  enemy's  squadron. 

On  coming  on  the  quarter  deck,  after  your  being 

wounded,  the  enemy's  second  brig,  at  that  time  on  our 

8 


90  ENGLISH  COURT  MARTIAL. 

weather  beam,  shortly  after  took  a  position  on  our 
weather  bow  to  rake  us  ;  to  prevent  which,  in  attempt- 
ing  to  wear,  to  get  our  starboard  broadside  to  bear 
upon  her,  a  number  of  the  guns  on  the  larboard  broad 
side  being  at  this  time  disabled,  we  fell  on  board  the 
Queen  Charlotte,  at  this  time  running  up  to  leeward  of 
us.  In  this  situation  the  two  ships  remained  for  some 
time.  As  soon  as  we  got  clear  of  her,  I  ordered  the 
Queen  Charlotte  to  shoot  ahead  of  us,  if  possible  ;  and 
then  attempted  to  back  our  fore-topsail  to  get  astern, 
but  the  ship  lying  completely  unmanageable,  every 
brace  cut  away,  the  mizen  topmast  and  gaff  down,  all 
the  other  masts  badly  wounded,  not  a  stay  left  forward, 
hull  shattered  very  much,  a  number  of  the  guns  disa 
bled,  and  the  enemy's  squadron  raking  both  ships 
ahead  and  astern,  none  of  our  own  in  a  situation  to 
support  us,  I  was  under  the  painful  necessity  of  answer 
ing  the  enemy,  to  say  we  had  struck,  the  Queen  Char 
lotte  having  previously  done  so.  I  have  the  honor,  &c. 

(Signed)  GEORGE  INGLIS. 

To  Captain  BARCLAY,  &c. 


The  following  extract  from  volume  8,  page  29,  of 
Niles'  Register,  was  copied  from  a  London  paper,  in 
1815. 

14  NAVAL  COURT  MARTIAL." 

"  A  Court  Martial  was  held  at  Portsmouth,  on  Fri 
day,  on  board  His  Majesty's  ship  Gladiator,  for  the 
trial  of  Captain  R.  H.  BARCLAY  and  his  remaining  of- 
fiers  and  men,  for  the  loss  of  the  squadron  on  Lake 


ENGLISH  COURT  MARTIAL,         91 

Erie,  on  the  10th  of  September,  1813,  in  an  action 
with  the  American  flotilla." 

After  detailing  the  bad  equipment  of  the  British  ves 
sels,  and  other  unfavorable  circumstances  under  which 
Capt.  Barclay  was  compelled  to  sail,  the  Court  say,  that, 

"  On  the  following  morning  he  fell  in  with  the  ene 
my,  and  having  the  weathergage,  bore  down  to  com- 
mence  the  action  ;  but,  unfortunately,  the  wind  veered 
directly  round,  and  brought  our  squadron  to  leeward. 
The  commencement,  however,  was  propitious  ;  the 
American  Commodore  was  obliged  to  leave  his  ship, 
which  soon  afterwards  surrendered,  and  hoist  his  flag 
on  another  of  his  squadron,  which  had  not  been  engaged, 
and  was  making  away,  when  unfortunately,  the  Queen 
Charlotte  and  Detroit,  our  two  best  ships,  having  had 
all  their  officers  killed  and  wounded,  fell  on  board  of 
each  other,  and  were  unable  to  clear — at  the  same  time 
the  greater  number  of  their  guns  were  dismounted,  and 
the  Lady  Prev^t  had  fallen  to  leeward,  having  lost 
her  rudder.  The  Americans,  seeing  this  situation  of 
our  ships,  renewed  the  action  with  the  assistance  of  his 
gun  boats,  by  which  the  whole  of  our  squadron  was 
obliged  to  surrender." 

NOTE.  The  allegation  made  in  this  report  that  Cap 
tain  Elliot  was  "making  away,"  and  not  any  thing  con 
tained  in  the  official  report  of  Commodore  Perry,  nor 
any  charge  made  against  him  at  home,  induced  Elliot 
to  call  for  a  Court  of  Inquiry.  That  court  made  the 
following  report : 

"  The  Court  of  Inquiry  convened  at  the  request  of 
Captain  Jesse  D.  Elliot,  having  deliberately  examined 


92  AMERICAN  COURT  OF  INQUIRY. 

all  the  evidence  produced  before  them,  for  the  purpose 
of  investigating  his  conduct  in  the  glorious  battle  of 
Lake  Erie,  on  the  10th  of  September,  1813,  in  which 
he  bore  so  conspicuous  a  part,  sincerely  regret  that 
there  should  have  been  any  diversity  of  opinion  re- 
specting  the  events  of  that  day,  and  imperious  duty 
compels  the  Court  to  promulgate  testimony  that  ap 
pears  materially  to  vary  in  some  of  its  important 
points.  The  Court,  however,  feel  convinced  that  the 
attempts  to  wrest  from  Captain  Elliot  the  laurels  he 
gained  in  that  splendid  victory,  as  second  in  command 
under  that  gallant  and  highly  meritorious  officer,  Cap 
tain  Perry,  ought  in  no  wise  to  lessen  him  in  the 
opinion  of  his  fellow  citizens,  as  a  brave  and  skilful 
officer,  and  that  the  charge  made  in  the  proceedings  of 
the  British  Court  Martial,  by  which  Captain  Barclay 
was  tried,  of  his  attempting  to  withdraw  from  the  bat 
tle,  is  malicious  and  unfounded  in  fact.  On  the  con 
trary  it  has  been  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  this 
Court,  that  the  enemy's  ship  Queen  Charlotte  bore  off 
from  the  fire  of  the  Niagara,  commanded  by  Captain 

Elliott." 

A.  MURRAY,  President. 

HENRY  WHEATON,  Judge  Advocate. 
(Approved.)  B.  W.  CROWNINSHIELD. 

This  opinion  merely  negatives  the  allegation  of  the 
British  Court  Martial,  viz.  :  that  Elliot  was  "  making 
away"  from  the  battle. 

Commodore  Perry  has  been  accused  of  inconsisten 
cy  in  giving  a  favorable  account  of  Elliot's  conduct,  in 
his  report  of  the  battle,  and  then  preferring  charges 


COM.  PERRY'S  LETTER.  93 

against  him  for  gross  misconduct  during  the  engage, 
ment.  To  set  this  in  a  proper  light,  his  letter  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  accompanying  those  charges  is 
here  published,  viz  : 

COM.  PERRY'S  LETTER  TO  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  lay  before  you  copies  of 
a  letter  lately  received  by  me  from  Captain  Jesse  D. 
Elliot  of  the  Navy,  and  of  certain  certificates  enclosed 
therein,  with  copies  also  of  my  letter  in  reply,  and  of 
tlie  affidavits  of  Lieutenants  Turner,  Stevens  and 
Champlin,  and  Dr.  Parsons. 

The  conduct  of  Captain  Elliot,  partially  presented 
to  view  in  these  papers,  and  still  more  clearly  marked 
by  other  acts  of  that  officer  within  my  knowledge,  and 
fully  susceptible  of  proof,  imposes  on  me  the  duty  of 
preferring  against  him  the  charges  which  accompany 
this  letter ;  and  I  now  accordingly  do  prefer  said 
charges  against  Captain  Elliot,  and  request  thaf  a 
court  martial  may  be  ordered  for  his  trial  thereupon. 

The  facts  upon  which  some  of  these  charges  are 
founded  (particularly  those  relating  to  the  behavior 
of  that  officer  during  the  engagement  on  Lake  Erie,) 
having  been  long  in  my  possession,  you  will  expect 
me  to  account  for  my  not  having  sooner  made  them 
known  to  the  government,  and  for  having  mentioned 
favorably,  in  my  official  report  of  that  action,  an  offi 
cer  whose  conduct  had  been  so  reprehensible. 

At  the  moment  of  writing  that  report,  I  did  in  my 
own  mind  avoid  coming  to   any  conclusion  to  what 
cause  the  conduct  of  Captain  Elliot  was  to  be  imputed; 
7* 


94 

nor  was  I  then  fully  acquainted  with  all  the  circum* 
stances  relating  to  it.  Having  previously  to  the  en* 
gagement  given  all  the  orders  which  I  thought  neces 
sary  to  enable  every  officer  do  his  duty,  and  feeling 
confidence  in  them  all,  I  was,  after  it  commenced, 
necessarily  too  much  engaged  in  the  actual  scene  be 
fore  me  to  reflect  deliberately  upon  the  cause  which 
could  induce  Captain  Elliot  to  keep  his  vessel  so  dis 
tant  both  from  me  and  the  enemy.  And  after  the 
battle  was  won,  I  felt  no  disposition  rigidly  to  examine 
into  the  conduct  of  any  of  the  officers  of  the  fleet ;  and, 
strange  as  the  behavior  of  Captain  Elliot  had  been, 
yet  I  would  not  allow  myself  to  come  to  a  decided 
opinion,  that  an  officer  who  had  so  handsomely  con 
ducted  himself  on  a  former  occasion,  (as  I  then  in 
common  with  the  public  had  been  led  to  suppose  Cap 
tain  Elliot  had)  could  possibly  be  guilty  of  cowardice 
or  treachery.  The  subsequent  conduct  also  of  Captain 
Elliott ;  the  readiness  with  which  he  undertook  the 
most  minute  services ;  the  unfortunate  situation  in 
which  he  now  stood,  which  he  lamented  to  me,  and  his 
marked  endeavors  to  conciliate  protection — were  all 
well  calculated  to  have  their  effect.  But  still  more 
than  all,  I  was  actuated  by  a  strong  desire  that  in  the 
fleet  I  then  had  the  honor  to  command,  there  should  be 
nothing  but  harmony  after  the  victory  they  had  gained, 
and  that  nothing  should  transpire  which  would  bring 
reproach  upon  any  part  of  it,  or  convert  into  crimina 
tion  the  praises  to  which  they  were  entitled,  and  which 
I  wished  them  all  to  share  and  enjoy.  The  difficul 
ties  produced  in  my  mind  by  these  considerations,  were, 


at  the  time,  fully  expressed  to  an  officer  of  the  fleet 
in  whom  I  had  great  confidence.  If  I  omitted  to 
name  Captain  Elliot,  or  named  him  without  credit,  I 
might  not  only  ruin  that  officer,  but,  at  the  same  time, 
give  occasion  to  animadversions  which,  at  that  period, 
I  thought  would  be  little  to  the  honor  or  advantage  of 
the  service.  If  my  official  report  of  that  transaction 
is  reverted  to,  these  embarrassments  with  respect  to 
Captain  Elliot,  under  which  I  labored  in  drawing  it, 
will,  I  believe,  be  apparent.  That  report  was  very 
different  from  what  had  been  expected  by  the  officers 
of  the  fleet ;  but,  having  adopted  the  course  which  I 
thought  most  prudent  to  pursue  with  regard  to  Captain 
Elliot,  I  entreated  them  to  acquiesce  in  it,  and  made 
every  exertion  in  rny  power  to  prevent  any  further  re 
marks  on  his  condnct — and  even  furnished  him  with  a 
favorable  letter  or  certificate  for  the  same  purpose,  of 
which  he  has  since  made  a  very  unjustifiable  use. 

These,  sir,  are  the  reasons  which  induced  me  at  the 
time  not  to  bring  on  an  inquiry  into  his  conduct.  The 
cause  and  propriety  of  my  now  doing  so,  will,  I  trust, 
2'equire  but  few  explanations.  I  would  willingly,  for 
my  own  sake  as  well  as  his,  (after  the  course  I  had 
pursued  for  the  purpose  of  shielding  him,)  have  still 
remained  silent ;  but  this,  Captain  Elliot  will  not  al 
low  me  to  do.  He  has  acted  upon  the  idea,  that  by 
assailing  my  character  he  shall  repair  his  own. 

After  he  was  left  in  the  command  on  Lake  Erie,  I 
was  soon  informed  of  the  intrigues  he  was  there  prac 
tising,  some  of  which  are  detailed  in  these  charges. 
These  I  should  not  have  regarded  as  long  as  they  were 


96 

private  ;  but  I  then  determined  and  declared  to  many 
of  my  friends  in  the  navy,  that  should  Captain  Elliot 
ever  give  publicity  to  his  misrepresentations,  I  would 
then  demand  an  investigation  of  the  whole  of  his  con- 
duct.  This  necessity  is  now  forced  upon  me. 

Believing  my  hands  to  be  bound,  and  even  braving 
me  with  the  very  certificate  afforded  to  him  in  chanty, 
this  officer  at  last  addresses  directly  to  myself,  and 
claims  my  acquiescence  in  the  grossest  misrepre 
sentations — not  only  of  his  own  conduct  on  Lake  Erie, 
but  of  conduct  and  declarations  which  he  imputes  to 
me. 

Thus  has  Captain  Elliot  himself  brought  his  own 
conduct  on  Lake  Erie  again  into  view,  and,  by  in. 
volving  with  it  imputations  upon  mine,  has  compelled 
me  to  call  for  this  inquiry.  He  can  make  no  com- 
plaint,  therefore,  of  delay  in  bringing  forward  any  of 
these  charges.  Those  which  regard  his  conduct  on 
Lake  Erie,  and  his  justification,  (if  he  has  any,)  are 
besides  as  perfectly  susceptible  of  proof  now  as  at  any 
earlier  period.  Whatever  the  character  of  that  be- 
haviour  was,  it  was  witnessed  by  such  numbers  as  to 
leave  nothing  in  it  equivocal  or  unexplained.  Some  of 
the  officers  who  were  with  him  may  still  be  called 
upon,  and  although  two  or  three  others  are  deceased, 
yet  so  were  they  when  Captain  Elliot  himself  called 
for  a  Court  of  Inquiry.  Certificates  also  were  ob 
tained  from  those  officers  by  Captain  Elliot  while 
living,  the  originals  of  which  are  in  the  Department, 
and  it  may  be  seen  by  them  that  those  officers,  if 
present,  would  have  no  testimony  to  give  which  could 


COM.  PERRY'S  LETTER.  97 

at  all  militate  with  these  charges.  There  are  as 
many  officers  deceased  from  whose  testimony  Cap- 
tain  Elliot  would  have  much  more  to  fear,  than  he 
would  have  to  hope  from  that  of  the  officers  above 
alluded  to.  A  Court  of  Inquiry  consisting  of  three  of 
ficers  was  once  called  at  the  request  of  Captain  Elliot, 
in  consequence  (if  I  recollect  rightly)  of  some  allusions 
to  the  conduct  of  the  Niagara,  supposed  to  be  con- 
tained  in  the  British  Commodore  Barclay's  report ; 
and  though  that  inquiry  (of  which  no  notice  to  attend 
as  witnesses  was  given  to  any  of  the  commanders  of 
vessels  on  Lake  Erie,  (could  only  be  a  very  limited 
one,  and  could  involve  no  actual  trial  upon  Captain 
Elliot's  conduct,  yet  he  undoubtedly  had  before  that 
Court  all  such  witnesses  as  could  testify  in  his  favor, 
and  the  record  of  that  testimony  (if  any  of  those  wit 
nesses  are  deceased,)  will  avail  him.  Captain  Elliot, 
therefore,  can  suffer  nothing  from  the  lapse  of  time, 
and  it  would  indeed  be  a  strong  pretension  in  him  to 
claim  protection  from  inquiry  into  his  conduct,  at  the 
same  time  that  he  is  giving  notoriety  to  his  own  re 
presentations  of  it,  and  that  too  to  the  prejudice  of 
others. 

I  am,  sir,  fully  sensible  how  troublesome  the  fre 
quent  examinations  into  the  conduct  of  officers  has  been 
to  the  government,  and  how  disagreeable  they  must 
have  become.  I  am  aware,  also,  that  the  public  are 
justly  dissatisfied  with  them,  and  that  reproach  has  been 
brought  upon  the  service  by  means  of  them.  I  have, 
therefore,  avoided  asking  for  this  investigation  as  long 


98 

as  I  possibly  could  do  so  with  any  justice  to  the  service, 
or  to  my  own  character. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

O.  H.  PERRY. 

In  consequence  of  the  absence,  upon  the  Mediterra 
nean  station,  of  a  number  of  material  witnesses,  the 
Court  of  Inquiry  asked  for  in  this  letter  could  not  be 
convened  till  Perry  sailed  upon  that  cruise  which  ter 
minated  his  life. 


The  following  is  the  second  charge  with  the  speci 
fications,  preferred  by  Perry  against  Elliot. 

"  Conduct  unbecoming  an  officer,  and  manifesting 
disregard  of  the  honor  of  the  American  flag. 

"  Specification. — Because  the  said  Captain  Elliot, 
about  the  1st  of  October,  1813,  on  board  the  gun  boat 
Scorpion,  commanded  by  Sailing-Master  Champlin, 
then  on  Lake  St.  Clair,  in  the  presence  of  said  Champ 
lin,  intemperately  and  unjustly  abused  the  said  Captain 
tain  Perry,  his  said  commanding  officer  on  Lake  Erie, 
and  expressly  declared  that  he  had  had  it  in  his  power 
to  destroy  the  fleet,  and  the  said  Perry  with  it,  and  he 
only  regretted  that  he  had  not  done  so  ;  and  further 
there  declared,  that  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Law 
rence  were  not  entitled  to  prize  money,  on  account  of 
the  vessels  of  the  enemy  captured  on  Lake  Erie,  but 
that  the  officers  and  crews  of  the  other  vessels  of  the 
American  fleet  were  entitled  to  prize  money  for  the 


COM.  PERRY'S  ACCUSATION.  99 

recapture  of  the  Lawrence.  And  because  the  said 
Captain  Elliot  did  again,  at  Buffalo,  in  November  and 
December,  1813,  publicly  express  the  same  wish,  that 
he  had  sacrificed  the  American  fleet  on  Lake  Erie,  to- 
gether  with  the  said  Captain  Perry,  its  commander. 

"  Specification. — Because  the  said  Captain  Elliot,  at 
Erie,  on  or  about  the  26th  of  October,  1813,  declared 
in  the  presence  of  Dr.  Wallace,  of  that  place,  that  it 
would  be  a  serious  question  between  the  two  govern 
ments  (meaning  the  American  and  British,)  whether 
Captain  Perry  was  not  to  be  considered  as  a  prisoner 
of  war." 

The  fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  charges  and  specifications 
were  as  follows : 

"  That  the  said  Captain  Elliot,  on  the  10th  of  Sep. 
tember,  1813,  being  then  a  Master  Commander  in  the 
Navy  of  the  United  States,  and  commanding  the  United 
States  brig  Niagara,  one  of  the  American  squadron  on 
Lake  Erie,  did  not  use  his  utmost  exertion  to  carry 
into  execution  the  orders  of  his  commanding  officer  to 
join  in  the  battle  on  that  day  between  the  American 
and  British  fleets." 

"  Specification. — Because  the  American  squadron 
having  sailed,  in  search  of  the  enemy,  a  few  days  pre 
vious,  the  following  orders  and  instructions  were  issued 
by  the  commanding  officer,  viz. — 1st,  An  order  di 
recting  in  what  manner  the  line  of  battle  should  be 
formed  ;  the  several  vessels  to  keep  within  half  cable's 
length  of  each  other,  and  enjoining  it  upon  the  com 
manders  to  preserve  their  stations  in  the  line,  and,  in 


100  COM. 

all  cases  to  keep  as  near  to  the  commanding  officer's 
vessel,  the  Lawrence,  as  possible.  2d — An  order  of 
attack  ;  in  which  order  the  Lawrence  was  designated 
to  attack  the  enemy's  new  ship,  (afterwards  ascer 
tained  to  have  been  named  the  Detroit,)  and  the  Niag 
ara,  commanded  by  the  said  Captain  Elliot,  designated 
to  attack  the  enemy's  ship  "  Queen  Charlotte  ;"  which 
orders  were  then  communicated  to  all  the  commanders, 
including  the  said  Captain  Elliot,  who,  for  that  pur 
pose,  and  to  receive  further  orders  and  instructions, 
were,  by  signal,  called  together  by  the  said  command 
ing  officer,  and  all  the  said  commanders,  including  the 
said  Captain  Elliot,  were  then,  by  the  said  command 
ing  officer,  expressly  further  instructed,  that  «'  if,  in  the 
expected  engagement,  they  laid  their  vessels  close  along 
side  of  those  of  the  enemy,  they  could  not  be  out  of 
their  way."  3d — When  coming  into  action,  an  order 
was  passed,  by  trumpet,  for  the  vessels  astern  to  close 
up  in  the  line  ;  and,  after  the  enemy  had  commenced 
firing,  the  signal  was  made,  by  the  said  commanding 
officer,  for  the  fleet  to  come  into  action,  each  vessel 
against  her  opponent,  as  before  designated  ;  yet  did  he, 
the  said  Captain  Elliot,  notwithstanding  said  orders, 
and  in  violation  thereof,  keep  his  said  brig,  the  Niaga 
ra,  nearly  a  mile's  distance  astern  of  the  Lawrence, 
and  a  still  greater  distance  from  the  whole  of  the  ene- 
my's  fleet,  during  more  than  two  hours  of  the  battle, 
although  but  a  few  moments  before  its  commencement 
he  was  within  hail  of  the  Lawrence,  and  might  with 
ease  have  followed  that  vessel  into  close  action,  instead, 
of  which  he,  the  said  Captain  Elliot,  failed  to  come  into 


lot 

close  action  and  to  engage  the  enemy's  ship  the  Queen 
Charlotte,  as  he  was  bound  to  do  by  said  order  and  by 
the  example  of  the  commanding  officer's  vessel,  and 
did  remain,  during  the  whole  period  before  mentioned, 
at  such  a  distance  from  the  enemy  as  to  render  all  the 
guns  of  the  Niagara  useless,  except  two  long  ones, 
which,  consequently,  were  the  only  guns  fired  from 
that  vessel  during  all  the  said  time,  and  by  which,  at 
so  great  a  distance  but  little,  if  any,  effect  upon  the 
enemy  could  be  produced  ;  of  which  misconduct  and 
breach  of  orders  the  said  Captain  Elliot  was  guilty, 
without  any  necessity,  cause,  or  excuse,  his  said  vessel 
being,  in  all    respects,  in  size,  force,  equipment  and 
crew,  and  sailing,  fully  equal  to  the  Lawrence  and  the 
ship  he  was  ordered  to  engage ;  and,  being  also  to  the 
windward  of  the  enemy,  said  vessel  could  not  easily 
have   been  kept  out  of  close  action,  unless  the  said 
Captain  Elliot  had,  for  that  purpose,  kept,  as  he  did, 
her  main  topsail  aback  and  her  jib  brailed  up  ;  by  do 
ing  which,  and  by  keeping  the  wind,  instead  of  bear 
ing  down  upon  the  enemy,  he,  the  said  Captain  Elliot, 
finally  carried  his  said  vessel  on  the  outside  of  the 
Lawrence  and  Caledonia,  placing  those  vessels  be 
tween  him  and  the  enemy,  and  was,  when  his  said 
commanding  officer  went  on  board  that  vessel,  keeping 
her  on  a  course  by  the  wind,  which  would,  in  a  few 
minutes,  have  carried  said  vessel  entirely  out  of  the 
action,  to  prevent  which,  and  in  order  to  bring  the  said 
vessel  into  close  action  with  the  enemy,  the  said  com 
manding  officer  was  under  the  necessity  of  heaving  to 
9 


COM,  FERRY'S  ACCUSATION. 

and  immediately  wearing  said  vessel  and  altering  her 
course  at  least  eight  points. 

Charge  5th. — That  the  said  Capt.  Elliot,  on  the  10th 
Sept.  1813,  being  then  commander  of  the  U.  States  brig 
Niagara,  one  of  the  American  squadron  on  Lake  Erie, 
through  cowardice,  negligence,  or  disaffection,  did  not, 
in  the  action  on  said  lake  on  that  day  between  the 
American  and  British  fleets,  do  his  utmost  to  take  or 
destroy  the  vessel  of  the  enemy  which  it  was  his  duty 
to  encounter. 

Charge  6th. — That  the  said  Capt.  Elliot,  in  said  en 
gagement  on  Lake  Erie,  on  the  said  10th  of  September, 
through  cowardice,  negligence,  or  disaffection,  did  not 
do  his  utmost  endeavor  to  afford  relief  to  the  United 
States  brig  Lawrence. 

Specification. — Same  as  to  charges  4th  and  5th,  with 
the  following  addition  : 

In  consequence  of  which  conduct  of  the  said  Captain 
Elliot,  the  enemy's  said  ship  the  Queen  Charlotte,  was 
enabled  to  unite  her  force  with  that  of  the  Detroit 
against  the  Lawrence  ;  instead  of  preventing  which, 
or  affording  any  assistance  to  said  brig  Lawrence,  the 
said  Captain  Elliot  left  that  vessel,  her  officers  and 
crew,  (eighty -three  of  whom  were  killed  or  wounded,) 
a  sacrifice  to  the  enemy,  although  his,  the  said  Captain 
Elliot's  vessel,  remained  perfectly  uninjured,  with  not 
more  than  one  or  two  of  his  men  (if  any)  wounded, 
while  Captain  Elliot  continued  on  board  of  her. 

0.  H.  PERRY." 

August  8,  1818. 


CAPT.  TURNER'S  AFFIDAVIT.  103 

The  other  charges  preferred  by  Commodore  Perry 
against  Elliot,  were,  for  unofficer-like  and  ungentle- 
manly  conduct  subsequent  to  the  battle,  in  misrepre 
senting  the  events  of  the  action,  and  attempting  to  ex 
alt  his  own  services  and  detract  from  those  of  others — 
falsely  claiming  to  have  been  in  close  action,  and  as 
suming  to  himself  the  principal  share  of  the  victory — 
attempting,  by  unmanly  means,  to  procure  from  the 
officers  of  the  fleet,  contrary  to  their  opinion,  certifi 
cates  of  his  own  good  conduct,  and  endeavoring  to  ob 
tain  from  British  officers,  prisoners  under  his  charge, 
declarations  favorable  to  himself — of  unjust  hostility 
towards  those  officers  who  had  refused  to  give  him 
certificates — falsely  declaring  that  Perry,  in  despair, 
had  thrown  overboard  his  fighting  flag,  which  had  been 
picked  up  by  another  officer — of  asserting  that  Perry, 
when  he  came  on  board  the  Niagara,  was  in  despair 
and  ready  to  ^ •;- Bender  the  fleet,  and  that  it  was  through 
his  firmness  atiii  perseverance  the  fight  was  renewed — 
and  having  brought  great  discredit  upon  the  service  by 
publicly  expressing  his  regret  that  he  had  not  sacrificed 
the  fleet,  and  Perry  with  it,  as  he  had  had  the  power  to 
do  in  the  action. 

Copy  of  Captain  Daniel  Turner's  affidavit. 
"In  the  battle  of  the  10th  September,  1813,  on  Lake 
Erie,  between  the  American  squadron  commanded  by 
Commodore  Perry, -and  the  British  squadron  under 
Commodore  Barclay,  the  action  begun  when  the  two 
squadrons  were  about  a  mile  apart,  by  a  firing  com 
menced  by  the  enemy  ;  the  signal  having  been  made 


104  CAPT.  TURNER'S  AFFIDAVIT. 

by  Commodore  Perry,  for  our  vessels  to  engage  as 
they  came  up,  each  against  the  enemy's  vessels,  as  de 
signated  in  previous  orders,  which  made  the  Queen 
Charlotte  the  antagonist  of  the  Niagara,  commanded  by 
Captain  Elliot.  It  was  understood  by  the  American 
officers  before  the  fight,  that  it  was  Captain  Perry's 
intention  to  bring  the  enemy  to  close  action  as  soon  as 
possible.  The  Lawrence  accordingly  closed  with  the 
Detroit  very  soon.  The  Queen  Charlotte  made  sail 
for  the  purpose  of  assisting  the  Detroit.  The  Niagara 
might  have  relieved  the  Lawrence  from  the  Queen 
Charlotte's  fire,  if  she  had  made  proper  exertions  to 
bring  her  to  close  action  ;  but  by  keeping  her  main- 
topsail  aback,  and  her  jib  brailed  up,  she  kept  at  too 
great,  a  distance  from  the  enemy  to  do  him  any  mate- 
rial  injury,  and  sustained  .scarcely  any  herself,  until 
the  Commodore  took  command  of  her,  who,  immedi 
ately  bore  up  and  passed  through  the  enemy's  line, 
firing  both  his  broadsides  with  such  tremendous  effect, 
as  compelled  him  instantly  to  surrender. 

It  was  the  general  opinion  of  the  American  officers, 
and  expressed  with  much  indignation,  that  Captain  El 
liot  did  not  do  his  duty  in  the  battle,  as  a  gallant  and 
faithful  officer  ;  inasmuch  as  he  did  not  bring  his  ves 
sel,  as  soon  as  he  might  have  done,  into  close  action, 
which  circumstance  only,  made  the  result  of  the  battle 
for  a  short  time  doubtful.  Soon  after  the  victory,  Cap 
tain  Elliot's  conduct  was  spoken  of,  as  well  in  General 
Harrison's  army,  as  in  the  fleet,  with  great  disappro 
bation  and  censure.  Captain  Perry  heard  of  it,  and 
spoke  to  me  of  it  one  evening  ;  said  that  he  was  sorry 


CAPT.  TURNER'S  AFFIDAVIT.  105 

reports  were  in  circulation  so  ruinous  to  Captain  Elli 
ot's  reputation — wished  they  might  be  silenced,  and  de 
sired  me  to  go  on  shore  to  the  camp,  and  do  all  that  I 
could,  with  propriety,  to  counteract  them — I  did  so  ac 
cordingly  the  next  morning.  He  said  the  American 
flag  had  gained  much  honor  that  day,  and  he  wished 
all  his  companions  in  battle  to  share  it  with  him. 
Several  weeks  after  this,  Captain  Perry  told  me  that 
Captain  Elliot  wished  him  to  alter  that  part  of  his  of 
ficial  report  which  stated  that  the  Niagara  did  not,  un 
til  a  late  period  of  the  engagement,  get  into  close  ac 
tion — and  asked  me  whether  I  thought  that  part  of  his 
report  incorrect,  as  it  had  been  agreed  to  leave  the 
question  to  be  decided  by  two  commissioned  officers  of" 
the  fleet,  (Lieutenant  Edwards,  who  was  present,  and 
myself  being  the  officers  selected,)  I  answered,  I  thought 
that  part  of  his  official  report  was  entirely  correct,  to 
which  Lieutenant  Edwards  assented. 

Some  time  after,  Captain  Perry  left  the  lake,  and 
when  the  squadron  was  under  Elliot's  command,  he 
applied  to  me  and  repeatedly  urged  me  to  give  him  a 
certificate  respecting  his  conduct  in  the  battle.  He 
said  his  only  reason  for  wishing  one,  was  to  have  it  in 
his  power  to  calm  his  wife's  uneasiness,  who  had  heard 
that  his  conduct  had  been  questioned  ;  and  declared  to 
me,  upon  his  honor,  that  he  would  make  no  other  use 
of  it  than  as  a  means  of  relieving  her  unhappiness. 
Thus  delicately  and  unpleasantly  situated,  I  wrote  such 
a  certificate  as  I  thought  I  might,  for  such  an  occa 
sion,  venture  to  give  Captain  Elliot. 

DAN.  TURNER." 
9* 


106  CAPT.  STEVENS'  AFFIDAVIT. 

Copy  of  the  affidavit  of  Captain  Thomas  Holdup  Ste 
vens,  commanding  United  States  sloop  Trippe,  in  the 
action  of  the  Wth  of  September,  1813. 

"  When  the  American  squadron  had  approached  the 
enemy  within  about  a  mile,  and  the  enemy  had  com- 
menced  firing,  the  signal  was  made  by  Commodore 
Perry,  to  "  engage  as  you  come  up,  every  one  against  his 
opponent,  in  the  line  as  before  designated ;"  agreea,bly 
to  this  signal,  the  situation  of  the  Niagara  should  have 
been  abreast  of  the  Queen  Charlotte,  and  within  half  a 
cable's  length.  The  Lawrence  went  gallantly  into 
close  action,  and  her  example  was  followed  by  the 
Caledonia,  Lieut.  Turner  ;  but  the  Niagara  continued 
to  hug  the  wind,  and  remained  in  the  position  she  had 
taken  at  the  commencement  of  the  action  till  a  few  mo 
ments  previous  to  Com.  Perry's  boarding  her.  There 
could  not  be  any  rational  object  in  the  Niagara's  keep 
ing  at  long  shot  with  the  Queen  Charlotte,  as  the 
amount  and  description  of  their  force  was  equal,  and 
being  principally  carronades,  no  effect  could  be  made 
by  them  at  the  distance  Captain  Elliot  kept  his  ship. 
From  the  number  of  light  sails  the  Niagara  had,  and 
there  being  a  leading  wind,  Captain  Elliot  might,  at  any 
period  of  the  action,  have  closed  with  the  enemy,  and 
relieved  the  Lawrence  from  the  dreadful  and  destruc 
tive  fire  kept  up  upon  her  from  the  united  forces  of  the 
Detroit  and  Queen  Charlotte. 

It  was  the  general  opinion  of  the  officers  and  men  of 
the  squadron,  that  Captain  Elliot  did  not  do  his  duty  in 
the  action  of  the  10th  of  September  ;  and  that  had  he 


CAPT.  STEVENS'  AFFIDAVIT.  107 

been  impelled  by  a  becoming  bravery,  he  would  have 
made  greater  exertions  to  have  taken  an  active  part 
in  the  fight.  Great  irritation  was  produced  in  the  fleet 
in  consequence  of  it,  and  this  opinion  continued  to  be 
freely  expressed  till  it  was  made  known  that  Com. 
Perry  was  desirous  of  protecting  Captain  Elliot  from 
the  effects  of  such  reports.  Every  exertion  was  made 
by  Com.  Perry  to  screen  Captain  Elliot  from  the  inju- 
rious  impressions  made  by  his  conduct  :  but  the  volun 
teers  in  the  fleet  did  not  pay  the  same  regard  to  Com. 
Perry's  wishes  as  was  done  by  the  officers  ;  and  many 
of  them  having  witnessed  the  conduct  of  Capt.  Elliot, 
gave  full  expression  to  their  feelings  and  opinions  re 
specting  him. 

It  was  a  received  opinion  in  the  fleet,  that  previous 
to  Com.  Perry's  going  on  board  the  Niagara,  she  had 
but  one  man  wounded,  and  that  her  opponent,  the 
Queen  Charlotte,  from  the  account  of  the  British  offi 
cers,  had  suffered  but  very  slightly  previous  to  being 
engaged  in  close  action  with  Com.  Perry. 

When  the  action  closed,  Captain  Elliot  was  on  board 
the  Somers,  and  the  accounts  from  that  vessel  were 
very  unfavorable  to  Captain  Elliot's  bravery,  as  it  was 
reported  he  beat  the  Captain  of  the  gun  very  severely 
with  a  speaking  trumpet,  for  having  laughed  at  his 
dodging  a  shot  which  passed  over  him  from  the  en 
emy. 

(Signed)  THOS.  HOLDUP  STEVENS." 


108 

Copy  of  the  affidavit  of  Captain  Stephen  Champlin, 
commanding  the  United  States  schooner  Scorpion,  in 
the  battle  of  the  Wth  of  September,  1813. 
"  In  the  action  of  the  10th  of  September,  1813,  be- 
tween  the  American  squadron,  commanded  by  Com. 
Perry,  and  the  British,  under  Com.  Barclay,  on  Lake 
Erie,  when  we  were  within  the  distance  of  a  mile  from 
the  enemy,  who  had  commenced  firing,  the  signal  was 
made  by  Commodore  Perry,  "  engage  as  you  come  up, 
every  one  against  his  opponent,  in  the  line  before  desig 
nated."  The  situation  of  the  Niagara  should  have 
been  abreast  of  the  Queen  Charlotte,  and  of  course  as 
near  as  she  could  get,  as  previous  to  the  action  I  had 
always  understood  from  Commodore  Perry  that  it  was 
his  intention  to  bring  the  enemy's  fleet  to  close  action 
in  case  of  a  conflict.  The  Lawrence  went  into  close 
action  in  the  most  gallant  style,  followed  by  the  Cale 
donia,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  D.  Turner, 
who  kept  her  in  her  station,  agreeably  to  signals.  The 
Queen  Charlotte  made  sail  and  closed  up  with  the  De 
troit  shortly  after  the  action  commenced,  and  directed 
her  fire  at  the  Lawrence.  The  Niagara  still  contin 
ued  to  remain  a  long  way  astern,  and  firing  at  long 
shot ;  a  short  time  before  Commodore  Perry's  going  on 
board  of  her,  she  ranged  ahead  of  the  Lawrence  and 
to  windward  of  her,  bringing  the  Commodore's  ship  be 
tween  her  and  the  enemy,  when  she  might  have  passed 
to  leeward  and  relieved  the  Lawrence  from  their  de 
structive  fire.  The  wind  being  at  that  time  south-east 
and  the  American  squadron  steering  large,  (with  the 
exception  of  the  Lawrence,  she  being  at  that  time  en- 


CAPT.  CHAMPLIN'S  AFFIDAVIT.  109 

tirely  disabled  and  lying  like  a  log  upon  the  water,) 
the  Caledonia  look  and  maintained  her  station  in  the 
line,  which  was  just  astern  of  the  Commodore  during 
the  whole  of  the  action.  It  was  the  opinion  of  the  of 
ficers  and  men  of  the  squadron  that  Captain  Elliot  did 
not  do  his  duty  in  the  action  on  that  day,  and  that  had 
his  conduct  been  that  of  a  brave  man,  there  is  no  pos 
sible  reason  that  can  be  given  why  his  vessel  should 
not  have  been  brought  into  close  action  with  the  British 
squadron,  before  Commodore  Perry  went  on  board  of 
her. 

Great  indignation  was  expressed  by  the  officers  in 
general  at  the  base  conduct  of  Captain  Elliot  in  neg- 
lecting  to  support  the  Lawrence  as  he  ought  to  have 
done.  But  understanding  that  the  Commodore  desired 
to  screen  him,  they  forbore  to  make  any  remarks  pub 
licly  upon  his  conduct.  The  volunteers  in  fleet,  how 
ever,  not  being  actuated  by  the  same  motives  which 
induced  those  under  Commodore  Perry's  command  to 
remain  silent,  expressed  their  feelings  without  any  re 
serve  whatever.  At  the  close  of  the  action,  Captain 
Elliot  was  on  board  of  the  Somers,  and  behaved  (as 
was  reported  by  the  officers  and  crew  of  that  vessel,) 
in  a  manner  totally  unbecoming  an  officer,  by  beating 
the  captain  of  the  gun  severely  with  a  speaking  trum 
pet,  for  his  laughing  while  he,  Captain  Elliot,  dodged  a 
shot. 

On  or  about  the  1st  of  October,  1813,  while  com 
manding  the  United  States  schooner  Scorpion,  on  Lake 
St.  Clair,  Captain  Elliot  came  on  board  :  in  the  course 
of  conversation  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie  being  intro- 


110  MR.  BREESE'S  AFFIDAVIT. 

duced,  he  observed,  "  that  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
Lawrence,  including  Com.  Perry,  were  by  no  means 
entitled  to  prize  money  ;  and  still  further,  that  the 
other  officers  and  men  of  the  squadron  were  even  en 
titled  to  prize  money  for  her,  she  being  a  recaptured 
vessel."  He  also  observed,  that  in  the  action  he  was 
so  far  from  the  enemy  that  he  only  fired  his  12  pound- 
ers  during  two  hours  and  a  half;  the  reason  he  as 
signed  was,  that  he  had  no  signal  from  the  Commodore 
to  change  his  situation  ;  complained  much  of  Commo 
dore  Perry's  injustice  towards  him,  and  said,  "  He  only 
regretted  that  lie  had  not  sacrificed  the  fleet  when  it  was 
in  his  power  to  have  done  so,  on  that  account."  He 
also  expressed  sentiments  to  that  effect  frequently  after 
wards  at  Buffalo,  as  I  was  informed  by  the  citizens} 
and  Midshipman  Senatt,  who  was  present  when  the 
observations  were  made. 

(Signed)  STEPHEN  CHAMPLIN." 


Copy  of  an  affidavit  of  Thomas  Breese,  Esq.  Purser 
U.  S.  N.  who  was  stationed  on  the  quarter-deck  of 
the  Laivrence  during  the  action  of  the  10th  of  Sep 
tember,  1813. 

"  On  the  10th  of  September,  1813,  the  action  on  Lake 
Erie  commenced  by  firing  from  the  enemy's  flag-ship, 
on  the  Lawrence,  about  the  distance  of  a  mile.  The 
signal  was  previously  made  by  Commodore  Perry,  for 
our  vessels  to  engage  as  they  came  up,  each  against  his 
opponent  in  the  British  line,  designated  by  the  order  of 


MR.  BREESE'S  AFFIDAVIT.  Ill 

battle,  which  made  the  ship  Queen  Charlotte  the  an- 
tagonist  of  the  Niagara,  commanded  by  Captain  Elliot ; 
it  being  understood  by  the  commanders  of  the  Ameri 
can  vessels,  that  it  was  the  intention  of  Commodore 
Perry  to  bring  the  enemy  to  close  action  as  soon  as 
possible.     The  Lawrence  immediately  closed  with  the 
Detroit,  and  her  example  was  gallantly  followed  by 
the  Caledonia,  Lieutenant  Turner,  the  Scorpion,  and 
Ariel.     Shortly  after  the  commencement  of  the  battle, 
the  enemy's  ship,  Queen  Charlotte,  made  sail  and  passed 
ahead  of  the  opponent  of  the  Caledonia,  and  opened  a 
destructive  fire  on   the  Lawrence,  in  conjunction  with 
the  Detroit  ;  but  the  Niagara,  from  some  mysterious 
cause,  remained  in  the   position  she  held  at  the  com 
mencement  of  the   action.     The  conduct  of  Captain 
Elliot,  in  thus  keeping  his  vessel  out  of  close  action, 
was  evidedtly  the  cause  of  the  great  length  of  time  the 
action  lasted,  and  made  the  result  for  a  time,  doubtful. 
When  the  Niagara  passed  to  windward  of  the  Law 
rence,  she  appeared  to  have  sustained  little  or  no  in 
jury.     After  the  action  closed,  the  censure  on  the  be 
havior  of  Captain  Elliot  was  general  and  severe,  not 
only  by  the  officers  of  the  Lawrence,  but  those  of  the 
small  vessels  ;  so  much  so,  that  the  officers  did  not  hes 
itate  to  say,  that  Captain  Elliot  must  have  been  actu 
ated  by   cowardly  or  ambitious  motives,  until  it  was 
made  known,  through  Lieutenant  Turner,  that  it  was 
the  wish  of  Commodore  Perry  to  suppress  any  reports 
prejudicial  to  Captain   Elliot.     In   conversation  with 
some  of  the  British  officers,  some  time  after  the  action, 
I  heard  them  give  as  a  reason  for  the  Queen  Char- 


112          CAPT.  BROWNELL'S  AFFIDAVIT. 

lotte's  changing  her  position  and  firing  upon  the  Law 
rence,  was  in  consequence  of  the  Niagara,  Captain 
Elliot,  being  at  so  great  a  distance,  that  the  short  guns 
of  their  vessels  could  not  be  used  with  effect.     It  was 
reported,  that  Captain  Elliot,  at  the  close  of  the  action, 
behaved  in  an  unofficer-like  manner  on  board  the  schr. 
Somers,  by  beating  a  captain  of  a  gun  with  a  trumpet, 
for  laughing  as  he  dogded  a  shot  which  passed  over 
him  from  the  enemy.     It   was  the  received  opinion  in 
the  fleet,  that  the   Niagara  had   but  one  or  two  men 
wounded,  on  board  of  her,  when  Commodore  Perry  took 
the  command,  and  that  she  had  sustained  but  slight  in 
jury  previous  to  that  time.     I   frequently  heard,  after 
Commodore  Perry  left  the  station,  that  Captain  Elliot, 
then  in  command,  had  circulated  reports,   among  the 
citizens  as  well  as  officers,  respecting  the  conduct  of 
Commodore  Perry  immediately  after  he  got  on  board 
the  Niagara,  which  were  calculated  to  injure  Commo 
dore  Perry,  and  were  honorable  to  himself. 

(Signed)  THOS.  BREESE." 


Copy  of  the  affidavit  of  Captain  Thomas  Brownell,  Sail- 
ing  Master  of  the   United  States  schooner  Ariel,  in 
the  action  of  the  10th  of  September,  1813. 
"  In  the  action  on  the  10th  of  September,  1813,  be 
tween  the  American  squadron,  commanded  by  Commo 
dore  Perry,  and  the  British,  under  Commodore  Barclay, 
on  Lake  Erie,  when  we  were  about  a  mile  distant  from 
the  enemy,  he  commenced  firing.     The  signal  was 
made  by  Commodore  Perry,  "  Engage  as  you  came  up* 


CAPT.  BROWNELL'S  AFFIDAVIT.         113 

each  vessel  against  her  opponent,  as  previously  designa 
ted."  The  situation  of  the  Niagara  should  have  been 
abreast  of  the  Queen  Charlotte,  and  as  near  as  she 
could  get ;  as  previous  to  the  action,  I  had  always  un. 
derstood  that  it  was  Commodore  Perry's  intention  to 
bring  the  enemy  to  close  quarters  as  soon  as  possible 
in  case  of  an  action. 

The  Lawrence  went  gallantly  into  close  action,  but 
the  Niagara  continued  to  keep  at  a  much  greater  dis 
tance  astern  than  when  the  action  commenced. 

The  Queen  Charlotte  made  sail  soon  after  the  action 
began,  and  closed  with  the  Detroit,  for  the  purpose  of 
directing  her  fire  at  the  Lawrence  in  conjunction  with 
the  Detroit.  The  Niagara,  by  backing  her  maintop- 
sail  and  brailing  up  her  jib,  was  not  enabled  to  fire  but 
at  long  shots,  with  her  bow  guns,  for  a  long  time  dur 
ing  the  action.  A  few  minutes  before  Commodore 
Perry  went  on  board  the  Niagara,  she  ranged  ahead 
of  the  Lawrence  and  to  windward  of  her,  bringing  the 
Commodore's  ship  between  her  and  the  enemy,  when 
it  was  in  Captain  Elliot's  power  to  have  passed  to  lee 
ward  and  relieved  the  Lawrence  from  the  destructive 
fire  of  the  Detroit  and  Queen  Charlotte,  the  wind  being 
at  that  time  southeast  and  the  American  squadron  steer, 
ing  large,  with  the  exception  of  the  Lawrence,  she  be 
ing  at  that  time  entirely  disabled  and  unmanageable. 
It  was  the  opinion  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  squad 
ron,  that  Captain  Elliot  did  not  do  his  duty  on  the  10th 
of  September,  and  that,  had  his  conduct  been  that  of  a 
brave  man,  there  is  no  possible  reason  that  can  be 
given  why  his  vessel  was  not  brought  into  close  action 
10 


114         CAPT.  BROWNELL'S  AFFIDAVIT. 

with  the  British  squadron  long  before  Commodore  Per 
ry  went  on  board  of  her,  she  being  equal  in  point  of 
sailing  with  the  Lawrence.  Great  indignation  was 
expressed  by  the  officers  in  general  at  the  base  con 
duct  of  Captain  Elliot  in  neglecting  to  support  the 
Lawrence  ;  but  understanding  from  Lieutenant  Turner 
that  Commodore  Perry  wished  to  screen  Captain  Elliot, 
we  forbore  to  make  any  remarks  publicly  on  his  con 
duct.  The  Volunteers,  however,  not  being  actuated 
by  the  same  motives  that  induced  those  under  the  com 
mand  of  Commodore  Perry  to  remain  silent,  expressed 
their  feelings  without  any  reserve  whatever.  At  the 
close  of  the  action,  Captain  Elliot  was  on  board  of  the 
schooner  Somers,  and  behaved,  as  I  am  told  by  the 
officers  of  that  vessel,  in  a  manner  altogether  unbecom 
ing  an  officer,  by  beating  a  captain  of  a  gun  severely 
with  a  speaking  trumpet  for  laughing  when  he  (Captain 
Elliot)  dodged  a  shot. 

He  also  arrested  the  commanding  officer  of  that  ves 
sel  (Sailing  Master  Almy)  for  intoxication,  and  I  have 
frequently  been  informed,  by  the  officers  and  men  of 
that  vessel,  that  he  was  in  a  perfect  state  of  sobriety^ 
and  did  every  thing  that  a  brave  man  could  do  to  de 
stroy  the  enemy.  I  was  ordered  to  that  vessel  a  few 
hours  after  the  action  and  found  him  perfectly  sober? 
but  his  feelings  much  wounded  by  Captain  Elliot's 
false  report.  I  was  told  by  Lieut.  Champlin  and  oth 
ers,  that  Captain  Elliot  said  he  regretted  he  did  not 
sacrifice  the  American  fleet,  and  that  it  was  decidedly 
in  his  power  to  have  done  so.  Captain  Elliot  applied 
to  me  for  a  certificate  of  his  conduct  in  that  action  ;  I 


CAPT.  TAYLOR'S  AFFIDAVIT.  115 

told  him  I  could  not  say  any  thing  in  his  favor,  and 
that  I  stood  ready  at  any  time  to  give  my  sentiments 
before  a  court  of  investigation.  After  the  action,  I  was 
on  board  the  Caledonia,  when  Captain  Bignall,  of  the 
British  ?iavy,  remarked,  that  had  Captain  Elliot  be- 
longed  to  the  British  navy,  he  would  have  been  hanged. 
Mr.  Magrath,  who  signed  a  letter  prejudicial  to  the 
character  of  Captain  Perry,  told  me  he  would  sacrifice 
his  right  arm  if  he  could  withdraw  his  name  from  that 
paper. 

(Signed)  THOMAS  BROWNELL. 


Copy  of  the  affidavit  of  Captain  William  V.  Taylor, 
Sailing  Master  of  the  United  States  brig  Lawrence, 
in  the  action  of  the  Wth  of  September,  1813. 
I  am  requested  to  state  such  facts  as  came  within 
my  knowledge  relating  to  the  battle  on  Lake  Erie,  on 
the  10th  of  September,  1813,  at  which  time  I  was 
Sailing  Master  on  board  the  Lawrence.  Our  squad 
ron  was  then  lying  in  Put-in-Bay,  with  some  small  isl 
ands,  of  which  Snake  Island  was  the  chief,  to  the  lee 
ward.  At  day  light,  the  enemy's  squadron  was  dis 
covered  in  the  N.  W.  from  the  masthead  of  the  Law 
rence  ;  when  Commodore  Perry  immediately  ordered 
the  signal  made  to  get  under  way.  After  we  had  got 
under  way,  he  asked  me  if  I  thought  we  should  be 
able  to  work  out  to  windward  of  the  islands  in  time  to 
gain  the  weathergage  of  the  enemy.  I  replied,  that 
I  did  not  think  we  could,  the  wind  then  being  at  S.  W. 


116  CAPT.  TAYLOR'S  AFFIDAVIT. 

and  light.  The  Commodore  then  said  he  would  wear 
ship,  and  go  to  leeward  of  the  islands,  as  he  was  deter- 
mined  to  bring  the  enemy  to  battle  that  day,  even  if  he 
gave  them  the  weathergage.  The  wind,  however,  at 
this  time  hauled  to  the  southward  and  eastward,  and 
enabled  us  to  clear  the  islands,  and  keep  the  weather 
gage.  At  ]  0  a.  m.  the  enemy,  despairing  of  gaining 
the  wind,  hove  to  in  line,  with  their  heads  to  the  west 
ward,  at  about  three  leagues  distance  ;  the  wind  then 
about  S.  E.  and  a  light  breeze.  The  signal  to  prepare 
for  action  was  made  from  the  Lawrence,  at  a  quarter 
before  meridian.  The  enemy's  flag  ship  fired  a  single 
shot  at  the  Lawrence.  Signal  was  made  for  each  ves 
sel  to  engage  her  opponent,  as  designated  in  previous 
orders;  which  made  the  Lawrence  opposed  to  t';e  en 
emy's  new  ship  Detroit,  and  the  Niagara  to  the  Queen 
Charlotte.  Commodore  Perry  then  ordered  the  word 
passed  by  trumpet,  through  Captain  Elliot,  for  the 
American  squadron  to  close  up,  as  before  prescribed, 
which  ivas  at  half  cables  length  distance.  At  merid 
ian,  finding  the  enemy  within  reach  of  our  carronades, 
opened  our  fire,  and  continued  nearing  them  until  with 
in  canister  range,  and  were  gallantly  supported  by  the 
Caledonia,  Lieutenant  Turner,  and  by  the  Ariel  and 
Scorpion,  both  on  our  weather  bow.  Shortly  after  the 
action  commenced,  I  observed  the  Niagara  to  be  a 
considerable  distance  astern,  with  her  main  topsail  to 
the  mast,  and  her  jib  brailed  up :  and  I  am  strongly 
impressed  with  the  belief,  that  her  top  gallant  sails  were 
never  set  until  Com.  Perry  went  on  board  of  her,  after 
the  Lawrence  had  been  disabled.  Once  or  twice  dur- 


CAPT.  TAYLOR'S  AFFIDAVIT.  117 

ing  the  engagement,  I  asked  Captain  Perry  if  he  ob- 
served  the  conduct  of  that  ship,  and  the  different  con- 
duct  of  the  Caledonia.     The   enemy's   ship,    Queen 
Charlotte,  taking  advantage  of  the   great  distance  at 
which  the  Niagara  kept  herself,  closed  with  the  De 
troit,  and  opened  her  fire  in  concert  with  that  ship  up. 
on  the  Lawrence,  which  proved  so  destructive  that,  by 
half  past  one  o'clock,  p.  m.,  we  were  completely  disa 
bled,  and  our  decks  covered  with  killed  and  wounded  : 
but  the  animating  exertions  of  Captain  Perry   kept 
alive  the  spirits  of  the  small  remnant  of  our  crew,  and 
the  action  was  continued  until  only  one  gun  could  be 
fired,  at  which  Captain  Perry   assisted  himself.     He 
then  determined  to  quit  the  Lawrence,  and  take  com 
mand  of  the  Niagara,  which  ship  he  observed  did  not 
appear  to  be  much  injured.     The  American  flag,  he 
said,  should  not  be  hauled  down  from  over  his  head  on 
that  day.     At  the  time  of  Captain  Perry's  leaving  the 
Lawrence,  the   Niagara    was   passing   our   larboard 
beam,  at   from  a  quarter  to  half  a  mile's  distance ; 
leaving  the  Lawrence  between  that  ship  and  the  ene 
my.     The   Caledonia  at   the  same  time  passing  our 
starboard  beam,   and  between  us  and  the  enemy.     I 
anxiously  watched  the  course  of  our  noble  commander, 
after  he  left  the  Lawrence  for  the  Niagara.     The  en 
emy  had  discovered  his  design,  and  directed  their  fire 
at  the  boat  he  was  in.     He  however  remained  stand 
ing  up  in  her  stern,  until  the  entreaties  of  the  men  pre 
vailed  upon  him  to  sit  down.     I  learnt  afterwards,  that 
they  had  implored  him  with  tears  not  to  expose  him 
self  as  a  mark  for  the  enemy's  fire;  and  finally  de- 
10* 


118  CAPT.  TAYLOR'S  AFFIDAVIT. 

clared,  that  they  would  lay  on  their  oars,  unless  he  sal 
down.  It  was  a  considerable  time,  with  all  the  exer 
tions  of  the  boat's  crew,  before  Captain  Perry  could 
come  up  with  the  Niagara.  When  he  did  get  on  board 
that  ship,  he  immediately  brought  her  into  action  ;  and 
passing  through  the  enemy's  squadron,  poured  into 
them  a  tremendous  fire  from  both  sides.  In  a  few 
minutes,  the  enemy's  vessels  surrendered  to  him,  and 
struck  their  colors,  except  two  small  vessels,  which 
attempted  to  escape,  but  were  pursued  and  captured. 

I  had  assisted  in  the  equipment  of  the  Niagara,  as 
well  as  the  Lawrence.  The  former  ship  was  in  all 
respects  fully  equal  to  the  latter,  in  size — in  number, 
weight,  and  description  of  guns — in  rigging  and  equip 
ment,  and  in  point  of  sailing.  Before  Captain  Elliot 
arrived  on  Lake  Erie,  the  Niagara  was  commanded 
by  Lieutenant  Turner,  and  the  squadron  had  already 
been  out  one  cruise,  manned  chiefly  with  volunteer 
militia.  Captain  Elliot  brought  up  with  him  from  On 
tario  from  90  to  100  prime  men;  the  chief  part  of 
which  he  took  on  board  the  Niagara,  which  ship  was 
much  better  manned  than  the  Lawrence  ;  a  great  pro 
portion  of  whose  crew  was  on  the  sick  list,  and  most  of 
the  remainder  not  effective  men  ;  consisting  chiefly  of 
volunteer  militia  of  all  descriptions,  and  exhausted  by 
previous  exertions.  I  was  on  board  the  Niagara,  when 
Captain  Elliot  took  command  of  her,  and  when  that 
part  of  her  crew  which  came  from  the  Ontario  first 
came  on  board,  and  I  observed  that  as  they  came  along 
side  in  their  boats,  he  called  out  from  among  them  the 
men  previously  designated  for  the  different  posts  and 


- 
CAPT.  TAYLOR'S  AFFIDAVIT.  119 

stations  about  the  ship  and  tops ;  so  that  it  appeared 
that  his  men  were  already  selected.  This  occasioned 
my  observing  to  Commodore  Perry,  that  the  different 
vessels  of  the  squadron  were  very  unequally  manned, 
in  consequence  of  so  great  a  proportion  of  the  effective 
men  being  engrossed  by  the  Niagara  alone.  He  did 
not  think  proper,  however,  to  make  any  alteration. 
All  necessary  orders  previous  to  the  engagement  were 
distinctly  given  in  writing,  and  put  into  the  hands  of 
each  commander  ;  and  the  last  words  of  Commodore 
Perry,  to  all  the  officers  assembled  on  the  eve  of  the 
battle,  (as  was  related  to  me  at  the  time)  were,  that  he 
could  not  advise  them  better  than  in  the  words  of  Lord 
Nelson — "  If  you  lay  your  enemy  alongside,  you  cannot 
le  out  of  your  place"  After  the  firing  had  commenced 
on  the  part  of  the  enemy,  at  about  a  mile's  distance, 
Commodore  Perry  gave  an  order  by  trumpet  for  the 
vessels  astern  to  close  up  in  the  line.  The  Niagara 
was  then  near  enough  to  the  Lawrence  to  receive  and 
pass  this  order.  I  do  not  think  she  was,  during  the 
engagement,  much  nearer  to  the  enemy  than  she  then 
was,  until  brought  into  action  by  Commodore  Perry. 
It  was  generally  understood,  that  one  or  two  only  of'her 
men  had  then  been  wounded.  If  it  had  been  the  desire 
of  the  commander  of  the  Niagara  to  have  joined  in  the 
.  action,  and  engaged  the  Queen  Charlotte,  as  ordered, 
I  know  of  no  cause  which  could  have  prevented  his  so 
doing.  The  wind,  though  light,  was  favorable,  and 
there  was  as  much  of  it  for  the  Niagara  as  for  the  Law 
rence.  It  was  the  general  opinion  of  the  officers  after 
the  battle,  that  had  the  Niagara  followed  the  example 


120 

of  the  Lawrence,  the  enemy  would  have  been  com* 
polled  to  surrender  in  a  much  shorter  time,  and  with 
much  less  loss  on  our  side.  So  much  indignation  was 
excited  by  the  conduct  of  the  Niagara,  that  even  the 
seamen  broke  out  in  open  murmurs  :  but  Commodore 
Perry  requested  the  officers  to  silence  every  complaint 
against  Captain  Elliot,  saying,  that  sufficient  honor  had 
been  gained  for  all ;  and  he  was  desirous  that  the  pub 
lic  attention  might  not  be  attracted  to  any  differences 
in  the  fleet.  His  official  account,  when  read  at  Erie, 
gave  much  dissatisfaction  to  most  of  the  officers.  They 
thought  Captain  Elliot  too  honorably  mentioned  in  it. 
(Signed)  W.  V.  TAYLOR. 


Letter  of  Dr.  Usher  Parsons,  to  Dr.  C.  G.  Perry,  son 
of  the  Me  Commodore  Perry,  who  requested  from 
him  an  account  of  what  occurred  in  the  Surgical  De 
partment  of  the  battle,  and  who  has  obligingly  per 
mitted  us  to  insert  it. 

The  crews  of  the  nine  vessels  consisted  of  about  six 
hundred  officers  and  men.  They  left  Erie  four  weeks 
previous  to  the  action,  in  good  health,  but  were  soon 
visited  by  a  bilious  fever,  which  spread  through  the 
fleet,  attacking  from  twenty  to  thirty  in  a  day.  It  was 
of  short  duration,  and  in  one  instance  only  proved  fa- 
tal.  So  rapid  were  the  recoveries,  that  of  more  than 
two  hundred  cases,  only  seventy. eight  were  reported 
unfit  for  duty  on  the  day  previous  to  the  action. 


DR.  PARSONS'  LETTER.  121 

Thirty-one  of  these  were  on  board  the  Lawrence,  and 
nearly  the  same  number  on  board  the  Niagara — their 
whole  crews  exceeding  one  hundred  and  thirty  persons 
each. 

There  were  three  medical  officers  attached  to  the 
fleet,  viz.  Dr.  Barton,  Surgeon  of  the  Niagara,  Dr. 
Horsely,  Surgeon  of  the  Lawrence,  and  myself,  Sur 
geon's  Mate.  The  sick  of  the  seven  smaller  vessels 
were  placed  under  the  sole  charge  of  the  Surgeon's 
Mate. 

Among  the  sufferers  from  fever  were  all  the  medi 
cal  officers.  The  Surgeon's  Mate,  being  first  attacked, 
was  convalescent  and  on  duty  before  the  others  were 
disabled,  and  for  some  days  previous  and  subsequent 
to  the  battle,  had  sole  charge  of  the  sick  of  the  fleet, 
including  the  two  Surgeons. 

The  enemy's  fleet  was  discovered  from  the  mast 
head  at  5  o'clock,  a.  m.,  and  at  7,  all  the  vessels  could 
be  seen  from  the  deck.  At  9,  began  the  busy  scene 
of  casting  loose  guns,  drawing  around  them  supplies  of 
balls,  grape  and  canister,  arranging  pikes  and  cut 
lasses,  and  girding  on  pistols  for  boarding,  hammering 
flints,  and  lighting  matches.  Mutual  requests  passed 
between  individuals,  for  the  survivor  to  notify  the  friends 
of  the  non-survivor  and  to  take  charge  of  his  effects; 
and  the  Commodore  handed  to  the  Surgeon  a  package 
of  papers,  inclosed  in  lead,  to  be  thrown  overboard  in 
the  event  of  his  falling. 

The  shallowness  of  the  vessels  allowing  no  place  of 
security  for  the  wounded,  they  were  received  upon  the 
wardroom  floor,  which  was  on  a  level  with  the  surface 


122  DR.  PARSONS'  LETTER, 

of  the  water,  and  about  ten  feet  square.  The  hatch- 
way  leading  from  this  room  to  the  deck  was  closed, 
leaving  a  small  aperture  for  passing  cartridges  through 
from  the  magazine  to  the  deck.  Men  were  stationed 
forward  at  the  main  hatchway  to  receive  the  wounded 
and  pass  them  through  the  steerage  to  the  wardroom, 
and  to  take  them  again  from  the  Surgeon  forward  to 
the  herth  deck. 

At  10  o'clock,  martial  music  struck  up  the  thrilling 
sound  of  "  all  hands  to  quarters  /"  The  fighting  flag 
was  then  displayed  at  mast  head,  and  the  valor  and 
patriotism  of  the  crew  appealed  to  by  the  Commodore? 
which  they  responded  to  with  three  hearty  cheers. 

A  breathless  stillness  now  reigned  through  the  ship, 
more  dreary  below  deck  from  the  dim  twilight  of 
the  apartment.  The  dread  scene  too,  so  near  at 
hand,  was  painted  by  the  imagination  in  horrid  forms, 
yet  mingled  with  buoyant  hopes  of  victory  and  of  again 
seeing  home  and  kindred.  But  the  scene  changed. 
Suddenly  we  were  roused  from  a  long  reverie  of  fore- 
boding  suspense,  by  the  electrifying  sound  of  the  ene 
my's  cannon  ;  and  soon  followed  the  deafening  thunders 
of  our  own  broadsides — the  crash  of  balls  hulling  our 
bulwarks,  and  the  shrieks  of  the  wounded  upon  deck  ] 

The  wounded  poured  down  so  fast  that  nothing  fur 
ther  was  attempted  for  them  during  the  battle,  than 
securing  bleeding  arteries  and  applying  splints  to  shat 
tered  limbs,  and  severing  from  the  body  such  limbs  as 
hung  by  smal!  portions  of  flesh.  Several  after  receiv 
ing  this  treatment  were  again  wounded  ;  a  young  offi 
cer  while  moving  from  me  with  a  tourniquet  on  the 


DR.  PARSONS'  LETTER.  123 

arm,  received  a  cannon  ball  in  the  chest ;  and  a  sea- 
man  with  both  arms  fractured  was  afterwards  killed 
by  a  cannon  ball. 

The  battle  raged  with  great  fury  ;  and  in  an  hour 
and  a  half,  had  so  far  swept  the  decks  that  new  appeals 
for  surgical  aid  were  less  frequent,  a  remission  at  this 
time  most  welcome,  as  the  repeated  request  of  the 
Commodore  to  spare  him  another  man,  had  taken  the 
last  one  stationed  to  assist  in  moving  the  wounded  ;  and 
it  is  worthy  of  record,  that  several  of  the  wounded, 
themselves,  crawled  upon  deck  at  this  critical  period, 
to  lend  a  feeble  hand  at  the  guns. 

But  our  prospects  continued  to  darken  ;  every  new 
visiter  from  the  deck  bringing  tidings  still  more  dismal 
than  the  last,  till  finally  it  was  announced  that  we  had 
surrendered.  The  effect  of  this  upon  the  wounded 
was  overwhelming.  Medical  aid  was  rejected,  and 
little  else  could  be  heard,  than,  "  sink  the  ship  ;  let  us 
all  sink  together." 

This  state  of  despair,  was,  however,  short.  The 
Commodore  was  still  unhurt — had  gone  on  board  the 
Niagara,  and  with  the  small  vessels  bearing  down  up- 
on  the  enemy,  soon  brought  down  the  flags  of  their  two 
heaviest  ships,  which  changed  the  horrors  of  defeat 
into  shouts  of  victory. 

But  all  the  wounded  were  not  permitted  to  mingle  in 
the  joy.  The  gallant  Brooks,  and  some  others,  were 
no  more.*  They  were  too  much  exhausted  by  their 


*  I  stated  in  an  affidavit  some  years  since,  that  the  wound 
ed,  from  the  first  of  their  coming  down,  complained  that  the 
Niagara  did  not  corne  to  her  station  and  close  with  the  Queen 


124  DR.  PARSONS'  LETTER. 

wounds  to  survive  the  tumultuous  scene  that  immedi 
ately  preceded  this  happy  transition. 

The  action  terminated  shortly  after  three  o'clock  ; 
and,  of  about  one  hundred  men  reported  as  fit  for  duty 
in  the  morning,  twenty-two  were  found  dead  and  sixty- 
one  wounded.  The  wounded  arteries  occupied  my 
first  attention  ;  all  which,  except  where  amputation 
was  required,  were  rendered  secure  before  dark.  Hav 
ing  no  medical  assistant,  I  deemed  it  safer  to  defer  am 
putations  till  morning,  and  in  the  meantime  suffered 
the  tourniquets  to  remain  on  the  limbs.  Nothing  more 
was  attempted  during  the  night,  than  to  administer  opi 
ates  and  cordials,  and  preserve  shattered  limbs  in  a 
uniform  position.  At  daylight  a  patient  was  on  the 
table  for  an  amputation  ;  and  at  eleven  o'clock,  all  am 
putations  were  finished.  The  impatience  of  this  class 
of  wounded  to  meet  the  operation,  made  it  necessary 
to  take  them  in  the  order  in  which  they  fell.  The 
other  wounded  occupied  my  attention  till  midnight. 

The  day  following,  I  visited  the  wounded  of  the  Nia 
gara,  who  had  lain  till  that  time  (48  hours)  with  their 
wounds  undressed.  The  Surgeon  was  sick  in  bed, 
with  hands  too  feeble  to  execute  the  dictates  of  a  feel 
ing  heart.  Twenty. one  wounded  were  mustered,  all  of 
whom,  that  required  surgical  aid,  were  taken  on  board 
the  Lawrence,  now  used  as  a  hospital  ship  for  the 
wounded  of  the  whole  fleet.  The  officers  of  the  Nia 
gara  afterwards  sent  me  the  names  of  four  more  wound- 
Charlotte,  although  ordered  to  do  so  by  signal.  This  com 
plaint  I  well  remember,  was  frequently  repeated  by  the  offi 
cers,  and  in  such  terms  as  will  never  be  forgotten. 


DR.  PARSONS'  LETTER.  125 

ed,  who  were  absent  from  the  ship  on  duty  when  I  was 
on  board,  which  increased  her  whole  number  to  twenty- 
five,  as  reported  in  the  official  account.  It  was  as 
certained  by  inquiry,  that  only  two  of  them  were 
wounded  before  Perry  came  on  board  the  Niagara. 
The  whole  number  killed  was  two,  as  officially  re 
ported  by  her  commander  to  the  Commodore. 

I  am  the  more  particular  here,  because  it  has  been 
stated  in  an  affidavit  sent  to  Captain  Elliot  in  1821,  by 
the  Surgeon  of  the  Niagara,  "  that  the  exact  number, 
including  those  dangerously  wounded,  was  twenty- 
seven,  and  the  slight  cases  not  reported  must  have 
amounted  to  six  or  eight  more — that  five  were  killed 
during  the  action,  and  a  few  died  soon  after.'5* 

This  intelligence  from  his  Surgeon  must  have  been 
new  and  unexpected  to  Captain  Elliot,  as  it  was  never 
heard  of  in  the  fleet  during  the  subsequent  year  of  its 


[*  The  publisher  has  seen  the  affidavit  alluded  to,  of  Dr.  Bar 
ton,  and  also  an  attempt,  by  Captain  Elliot,  or  some  anony- 
rnous  writer  in  his  service,  to  array  it  against  the  statement 
of  Dr.  Parsons,  relative  to  the  number  of  killed  and  wounded 
on  board  the  Niagara.  But  Dr.  Barton's  sickness  at  the  time, 
must  excuse  his  ignorance  of  the  fact,  that  the  official  list  of 
killed  and  wounded  in  each  vessel  was  made  out  and  certified 
to  by  their  respective  officers.  That  the  reader  may  be  enabled 
to  determine  whether  Dr.  Barton's  or  Dr.  Parsons'  statement 
is  most  to  be  relied  on,  we  here  subjoin  an  extract  of  a  letter, 
written  shortly  after  the  battle,  by  Commodore  Perry  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  respecting  the  services  of  the  medical 
officers. 

"  Of  Dr.  Parsons,  surgeon's  mate,  I  cannot  say  too  much. 
In  consequence  of  the  indisposition  of  both  surgeons,  Drs. 
Horseley  and  Barton,  the  duty  of  operating,  dressing,  and  at 
tending  a  hundred  wounded,  and  as  many  sick,  devolved  en 
tirely  on  him  ;  and  it  must  be  pleasing  to  you,  sir,  to  reflect, 
that,  of  the  whole  number,  only  three  have  died."] 
11 


126  A  PRIVATE   LETTER. 

sailing  on  the  lake,  and  is  at  variance  with  the  report 
of  the  officers  of  the  Niagara  who  furnished  the  names 
of  the  wounded  at  the  time,  whilst  the  Surgeon  was 
sick  in  his  hammock. 

TOTAL    LIST    OF    KILLED    AND    WOUNDED    IN    THE    FLEET. 

Lawrence,  22  killed,                 61  wounded. 

Niagara,  2      "                     25        " 

Caledonia,  3         " 

Somers,  2 

Ariel,  1       "                        3 

Trippe,  2        " 

Scorpion,  2      " 

Total,  27      "  96 

Killed  in  the  British  vessels  41,  wounded  94. 
Of  the  whole  number  wounded  in  the  American 
fleet,  three  died.  The  recovery  of  so  large  a  propor 
tion,  is  in  some  measure  attributable  to  their  being 
abundantly  supplied  with  fresh  provisions  and  pure 
water,  to  a  pure  atmosphere  under  an  awning  upon 
deck,  to  the  cheerful  state  of  mind  occasioned  by  vie- 
tory,  and  to  the  devoted  attention  of  the  Commodore  to 
every  want. 


The  following  is  an'  extract  of  a  private  letter  from 
an  officer  of  the  United  States  Navy,  who  was  an 
eyewitness  of  the  scene  described  : 

October  7,  1813. 

"  Had  I  been  able,  I  should  before  now  have  sent 
you  some  particulars  of  the  action  of  the  memorable 
10th  of  September.  As  we  have  not  many  letter  wri 
ters  in  our  squadron,  the  public  will  have  to  put  up 


A  PRIVATE  LETTER. 


1*7 


with  the  Commodore's  e  round,  unvarnished  tale ;' 
which,  however,  is  very  well  told.  All  the  fault  I  find 
with  it  is,  that  he  himself  is  too  much  in  the  back 
ground. 

"  In  no  action  fought  this  war  has  the  conduct  of  the 
commanding  officer  been  so  conspicuous  or  so  evidently 
decisive  of  the  fate  of  the  battle,  as  in  this.  When  he 
discovered  that  nothing  further  could  be  done  in  the 
Lawrence,  he  wisely  removed  to  the  Niagara,  and  by 
one  of  the  boldest  and  most  judicious  manoeuvres  ever 
practised,  decided  the  contest  at  once.  Had  the  Niag. 
ara  shared  the  fate  of  the  Lawrence,  it  was  his  intention 
to  have  removed  to  the  next  best  vessel,  and  so  on  as 
long  as  one  of  his  squadron  continued  to  float.  The 
enemy  saw  him  put  off,  and  acknowledged  that  they 
fired  a  broadside  at  him.  With  his  usual  gallantry  lie 
went  off  standing  up  in  the  stern  of  the  boat ;  but  the 
crew  insisted  on  his  sitting  down.  The  enemy  speak 
with  admiration  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Lawrence 
bore  down  upon  them.  She  continued  her  course  so 
long  and  so  obstinately,  that  they  thought  we  were 
going  to  board  them.  They  had  a  great  advantage  in 
having  long  guns.  Many  of  our  men  were  killed  on 
the  berth  deck  and  in  the  steerage,  after  they  were 
taken  below  to  be  dressed. — Midshipman  Laub  was  of 
this  number.  One  shot  went  through  the  light  room, 
and  knocked  the  snuff  of  the  candle  into  the  magazine 
— the  gunner  happened  to  see  it  immediately,  and  ex 
tinguished  it  with  his  hand  :  2  shot  passed  through  the 
magazine  ;  2  through  the  cabin  ;  3  or  4  came  into  the 
ward  room — but  I  believe  only  one  went  quite  through. 


128          ELLIOT'S  LETTER  TO  PERRY. 

and  that  passed  a  few  inches  over  the  surgeon's  head 
as  he  sat  in  the  cockpit.  Our  short  guns  lodged  their 
shot  in  the  bulwarks  of  the  Detroit ;  where  a  number 
of  them  now  remain.  Her  bulwarks,  however,  were 
vastly  superior  to  ours,  being  of  oak,  and  very  thick. 
Many  of  their  grape  shot  came  through  ours.  They 
acknowledge  that  they  threw  combustible  matter  on 
board  of  us,  which  set  our  sails  and  rigging  on  fire  in 
several  places.  I  am  clearly  of  opinion,  that  they 
were  better  manned  than  we  were.  They  had  a  much 
greater  number — they  had  veteran  troops — their  men 
were  all  well.  We  had  as  motley  a  crew  as  ever  went 
into  action  ;  and  our  vessels  looked  like  hospital  ships." 


Letter  from  Captain  Elliot  to  Captain  Perrv.  \Xo  date.~\ 
SIR  :  Communications  which  have  recently  been 
made  me,  and  exact  copies  of  which  I  herewith  enclose 
you,  render  it  necessary  that  I  should  hear  from  you 
immediately.  As  soon  as  I  heard  of  your  late  visit  to 
Washington,  I  lost  no  time  in  hurrying  off  from  this 
place,  with  a  hope  that  we  should  meet  and  settle  those 
differences  which  have  so  long  existed ;  your  sudden, 
and  to  me  unexpected,  departure  from  that  city,  pre 
vented  the  contemplated  meeting ;  and  my  orders  to 
sit  on  a  Court  Martial,  in  Baltimore,  which  detained 
me  from  this  place  longer  than  I  at  first  expected,  has 
induced  me  to  return  to  Virginia,  and  instead  of  the 
personal  interview,  which  had  alone  carried  me  from 
home,  and  which  I  had  so  anxiously  hoped  for  would 
take  place,  now  compels  me  to  address  you  at  a  mo- 


129 

ment  when  I  might  seem  if  prompted  by  the  late  public 
investigation  of  your  Mediterranean  command. 

The  wrongs  which  I  have  suffered  are  many ;  and 
after  taking  a  retrospect  of  all  the  transations  connected 
with  our  affairs  which  have  been  made  public,  I  am  at 
a  loss  to  know  how  it  was  possible  you  could  have 
made  such  representations  as  are  contained  in  the  cer 
tificates  herewith  enclosed.  Immediately  after  the  ac 
tion  on  Lake  Erie,  you  must  recollect,  that  reports 
prejudicial  to  my  character  were  put  in  circulation  ; 
when  I  called  on  you  for  a  written  contradiction  of 
them,  (your  answer,  I  presume,  is  in  your  possession) 
you  say  in  your  letter,  "  You  have  no  fault  to  find  with 
myself,  officers,  and  crew — compliment  me  by  saying, 
you  are  indebted  in  a  great  measure,  for  the  victory, 
to  my  bringing  the  small  vessels  into  close  action,'*  and 
conclude,  with  a  positive  assertion,  that  the  Niagara 
would,  from  her  superior  order,  have  taken  the  Queen 
Charlotte  in  twenty  minutes,  had  she  not  made  sail  and 
engaged  the  Lawrence. 

What,  sir,  has  since  occurred,  to  draw  from  you  such 
base,  false,  and  malicious  reports,  as  contained  in  the 
certificates  enclosed  ?  I  will  conclude  my  remarks 
with  one  or  two  observations,  and  permit  you  to  draw 
such  inferences  as  your  feelings  of  honor  may  dictate ; 
hoping,  that  you  will  never  again  have  occasion,  either 
in  the  society  of  the  ladies,  or  that  of  young  navy  offi 
cers,  to  make  use  of  expressions  of  a  similar  nature, 
and  which,  too,  intended  to  my  injury.  Pray,  sir,  has 
your  memory  been  so  treacherous,  as  to  fail  recollect 
ing  an  interview  at  Erie,  and  that  you  then  said,  "if  I 


130  PERRY'S  REPLY  TO  ELLIOT. 

would  not  dwell  on  the  action,  that  you  would  write  a 
private  letter  to  the  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and 
express  your  surprise  that  the  country  did  not  give  me 
half  the  honor  in  the  victory  1  With  proper  respect, 

J.  D.  ELLIOT." 


Commodore  Perry's  reply  to  Captain  Elliot. 

NEWPORT,  (R.  I.)  June  13,  1818., 

SIR  :  The  letter  which  I  have  lately  received  from 
you  has  evidently  been  written  ior  the  purpose  of  be 
ing  exhibited  to  your  friends,  and  in  the  hope  that, 
passing  without  reply,  it  might  gain  credit  among  those 
upon  whom  you  have  been  long  in  the  habit  of  prac 
tising  similar  impositions.  You  had  much  reason,  sir, 
to  indulge  in  such  a  hope. 

It  is  humiliating  to  be  under  the  necessity  of  reply 
ing  to  any  letters  written  by  a  person  who  so  little 
knows  what  becomes  a  gentleman.  I  must  not,  how. 
ever,  permit  you  to  derive  from  my  silence  any  coun 
tenance  to  the  gross  falsehoods  contained  in  your  let 
ter,  and  which  it  would  be  an  affectation  of  decorum  to 
call  by  any  other  name;  such  particularly,  is  the  absurd 
declaration  you  impute  to  me  in  the  close  of  it,  and  the 
perverted  account  you  give  of  the  manner  in  which  I 
was  once  induced  to  write  a  letter  in  your  favor.  How 
imprudent,  as  we[l  as  base,  it  is  in  you,  by  such  mis 
representations,  to  reduce  me  to  the  necessity  of  re 
minding  you  of  the  abject  condition  in  which  I  had  pre 
viously  found  you,  and  by  which  I  was  moved  to  af 
ford  you  all  the  countenance  in  my  power ;  sick  (or 
pretending  to  be  sick)  in  bed,  in  consequence  of  dis- 


131 


tress  of  mind,  declaring  that  you  had  missed  the  fairest 
opportunity  of  distinguishing  yourself  that  ever  man 
had,  and  lamenting  so  piteously  the  loss  of  your  repu 
tation,  that  I  was  prompted  to  make  almost  any  effort 
to  relieve  you  from  the  shame  which  seemed  to  over 
whelm  yon.  This,  you  very  well  know,  was  the  ori 
gin  of  the  certificate  I  then  granted  you  ;  and  that 
your  letter  to  me,  (of  which  you  once  furnished  a  false 
copy  for  publication,  and  which  you  now  represent  as 
making  a  demand  upon  me,)  was  merely  an  introduc 
tion  to  mine.  Another  motive  I  had  which  you  could 
not  appreciate,  but  which  I  urged  with  success  on  the 
other  officers  :  it  resulted  from  a  strong,  and  I  then 
hoped,  pardonable,  desire  that  the  public  eye  might 
only  rest  upon  the  gallant  conduct  of  the  fleet,  and  not 
be  attracted  to  its  blemishes,  as  I  feared  it  would  be 
by  the  irritation  excited  by  your  conduct  among  the 
officers  and  men,  most  of  whom,  I  hoped,  had  acquired 
sufficient  honor  to  gratify  their  ambition,  even  should  that 
honor  be  shared  by  some  one  who  might  less  deserve  it. 
The  expressions  stated  in  your  two  certificates  to 
have  been  made  use  of  by  me,  when  speaking  of  your 
unmanly  conduct,  were  probably  the  most  lenient  I  have 
for  a  long  time  employed  when  called  upon  to  express 
my  opinion  of  you  ;  and,  thoroughly  known,  as  you 
must  be  conscious  your  character  is  to  me,  it  was  quite 
needless  for  you  to  have  procured  certificates  of  the 
contempt  with  which  I  have  spoken  of  you.  You  might 
readily,  however,  have  furnished  much  more  ample 
ones,  and  of  a  much  earlier  date,  than  those  it  has  suit 
ed  you  to  produce  ;  for  you  allowed  but  little  time  to 
t* 
' 


132  PERRY'S  REPLY  TO  ELLIOT. 

elapse,  after  receiving  the  benefits  of  my  letter,  before 
your  falsehoods  and  intrigues  against  me  made  me  fully 
sensible  of  the  error  I  had  committed  in  endeavoring 
to  prop  so  unprincipled  a  character. 

If  it  be  really  true  that  you  hurried  to  Washington 
for  the  purpose  of  inviting  me  to  a  meeting,  it  is  indeed 
unfortunate  that  intentions  for  which  you  give  yourself 
so  great  credit  have  evaporated  in  a  pitiful  letter,  which 
none  but  a  base  and  vulgar  mind  could  have  dictated. 
The  reputation  you  have  lost  is  not  to  be  recovered  by 
such  artifices  ;  it  was  tarnished  by  your  own  beha 
vior  on  Lake  Erie,  and  has  constantly  been  rendered 
more  desperate  by  your  subsequent  folly  and  habitual 
falsehoods.  You  cannot  wonder  at  the  loss  :  that  rep- 
utation  which  has  neither  honor  nor  truth,  nor  courage 
for  its  basis,  must  ever  be  of  short  duration.  Mean 
and  despicable  as  you  have  proved  yourself  to  be,  I 
shall  never  cease  to  criminate  myself  for  having  devi 
ated  from  the  path  of  strict  propriety,  for  the  sake  of 
screening  you  from  public  contempt  and  indignation. 
For  this  offence  to  the  community  I  will  atone,  in  due 
time,  by  a  full  disclosure  of  your  disgraceful  conduct. 
But  that  you,  of  all  men,  should  exultingly  charge  me 
with  an  error  committed  in  your  favor,  and  by  which 
you  were  (as  far  as  a  man  in  your  situation  could  be) 
saved  from  disgrace,  is  a  degree  of  turpitude  of  which 
I  had  before  no  conception.  O.  H.  PERRY. 


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